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Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


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CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHIVI/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


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point  de  vue  bibliographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  methods  normale  de  filmage 
sont  indiquds  ci-dessous. 


D 


D 


D 
D 


D 


D 


Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 


I      I    Covers  damaged/ 


Couverture  endommagde 


Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaurde  et/ou  pelliculde 


I      I    Cover  title  missing/ 


Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 


I      I    Coloured  maps/ 


Cartes  gdographiques  en  couleur 


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Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 

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Bound  with  other  material/ 
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mais,  lorsque  cela  dtait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
pas  6t6  filmdes. 

Additional  comments:/ 
Commentaires  suppl6mentaires: 


□   Coloured  pages/ 
Pages  de  couleur 


D 
D 

n 
0 


n 


Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommag^es 

Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Pages  restaurdes  et/ou  pellicul6es 

Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 
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Pages  detached/ 
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Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
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Les  pages  totalement  ou  partiellement 
obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata,  une  pelure, 
etc.,  ont  6t6  filmdes  d  nouveau  de  fapon  d 
obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  filmi  au  taux  do  reduction  indiqui  ci-dessous. 

10X  14X  18X  22X 


26X 


30X 


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12X 


16X 


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24X 


28X 


32X 


ire 

details 
les  du 
modifier 
ler  une 
filmage 


The  copy  filmed  here  has  been  reproduced  thanlcs 
to  the  generosity  of: 

National  Library  of  Canada 


The  images  appearing  here  are  the  best  quality 
possible  considering  the  condition  and  legibility 
of  the  original  copy  and  in  keeping  with  the 
filming  contract  specifications. 


L'exemplaire  fiim6  fut  reproduit  grflce  d  la 
g6n6rosit6  de: 

Bibliothdque  nationale  du  Canada 


Les  images  suivantes  ont  6t6  reproduites  avec  le 
plus  grand  soin,  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  et 
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conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 


Original  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


ies 


Les  exemplaires  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  imprimde  sont  filmds  en  commenpant 
par  le  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration,  soit  par  le  second 
plat,  selon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplaires 
originaux  sont  film6s  en  commengant  par  la 
premidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  ^^- (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED "),  or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 


Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
dernidre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbole  — »•  signifie  "A  SUIVRE",  le 
symbole  V  signifie  "FIN". 


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Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  dtre 
filmds  d  des  taux  de  reduction  diffdrents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  §tre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  cliche,  il  est  filmd  d  partir 
de  Tangle  supdrieur  gauche,  de  gauche  d  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  n6cessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  mdthode. 


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PICTORIAL     GUIDE 

TO     THE 


FALLS  OF  NIAGARA: 


MANUAL  FOR  VISITERS, 

OI\  INO  AN  ACCOUNT  OF  THIS 

STUPENDOUS   NATURAL    AVONDER ; 

AND    ALL 

THE  OBJECTS  OF  CURIOSITY  IN  ITS  VICINITY;   I 

WITH     EVERY 

HISTORICAL  INCIDENT  OF  INTEREST : 

AND 

ALSO    FULL    DIRECTIONS    FOR   VISITING  THE  CATARACT 
AND    ITS    NEIGHBOURING    SCENES. 


ILLUSTRATED  BY  NUMEROUS 

MAPS,  CHARTS,  AND  ExNGRAVINGS, 

FROM  ORIGINAL  SURVEYS  AND  DESIGNS. 


THE  ILLUSTRATIONS   DESIGNED  AND  ENGRAVED 

BY    J.    W.    ORR. 
BUFFALO: 

PRESS   OF    SALISBURY   AND    CLAP  P. 


18  42. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  by 

JOHN    W.    OR  R, 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  Northern  District  of  New-York, 

in  the  year  1842. 


INTRODUCTION. 


HE  wonderful  cataract  of  Niagara, 
the  ir^ost  grand  and  stupendous  nat- 
ural curiosity  in  the  world,  is  annu- 
ally visited  by  so  many  thousands  of 
people  from  the  diflerent  countries 
of  Europe  and  America,  that  a  work  which  shall 
serve  the  purpose  of  a  guide  to  the  Falls,  and  point 
out,  in  a  plain  perspicuous  manner,,  a  judicious 
routine  of  observation,  so  that  the  stranger  may 
be  enabled,  by.  its  assistance  alone,  to  find  his  way 
without  loss  of  time  or  unnecessary  toil,  to  every 
place  which  it  is  desirable  to  visit,  and  every  point 
from  which  a  good  view  may  be  obtained,  must  be 
a  desideratum  to  the  travelling  public. 

A  work,  which  in  addition  to  this,  embodies  a 
full  account  of  this  remarkable  phenomenon,  and 
the  region  of  wild  and  picturesque  beauty  in  which 
it  is  situate,  illustrated  and  embellished  by  accu- 
rate maps,  and  numerous  engravings,  from  origi- 
nal and  careful  surveys  and  drawings,  must  pre- 
sent still  stronger  claims  to  popular  regard,  and 


I 


IV 


I  N  T  11  0  D  U  C  T  I  O  X  . 


be,  indeed,  indispensable  to  the  Niagara  visitant. 
It  was  the  hope  and  vvisli  of  the  autiior,  to  render 
this  such  a  worl;,  —  to  embody  all  that  is  known 
of  the  Falls,  and  the  strait  by  which  they  are  form- 
ed ;  with  full,  yet  concise  directions  to  the  visiter, 
for  prosecuting  his  examination  of  the  cataract 
and  other  interesting  objects  of  curiosity,  in  their 
neighbourhood  ;  and  a  brief,  but  full  account  of 
the  leading  historical,  and  fortuitous  events,  which 
have 'transpired  at  the  Falla,  or  in  their  vicinity, 
down  to  the  present  date  ;  and  to  enrich  it  vith 
maps,  charts,  and  engravings,  —  to  make  it,  in 
short,  not  only  useful,  and  even  essential  to  the 
traveller,  but  interesting  and  ornamental,  —  such 
a  work  as  must  prove  to  the  purchaser  of  real 
utility  and  value.  To  what  extent  we  have  suc- 
ceeded in  this  hope,  is  for  others  to  determine. 

The  author  disclaims  any  attempt  to  describe 
the  Falls  of  Niagara,  simply,  because  they  r.re  in- 
describable. Others  may,  perhaps,  imagine  they 
have  succeeded  in  doing  this,  as  people  have  been 
silly  enough  to  fancy  they  could  quadrate  the  cir- 
cle, generate  perpetual  motion,  and  achieve  other 
like  impossibilities.  But  the  public  must  be  aware 
—  though  they  may  not  be  —  of  how  utterly  they 
have  failed  to  express  even  a  shadow  of  the  colos- 
sal grandeur  and  divine  sublimity  of  the  scene. 


^ 


INTRODUCTION. 


All  tliat  can  he  clone  by  the  most  gifted,  is  to  point 
out  the  best  places  of  observation,  and  instruct  the 
reader  how  to  examine  the  wonders  and  glories  of 
Niagara,  by  calling  his  attention  to  a  few  general 
characteristics  of  the  cataract,  and  to  individual 
features  of  particular  parts  :  but  to  give  a  person, 
who  has  never  seen  the  Falls,  any  definite  idea  of 
their  ineflable  beauty  and  majesty,  is  immeasura- 
bly beyond  the  art  of  any  writer  however  talented, 
of  any  painter,  however  happy  in  the  impress  of 
his  genius. 

A  few  words  on  the  subject  of  our  arrangement. 
The  most  simple  plan  is  always  the  best.  The 
one  suggested  by  the  natural  situation  and  order 
of  things  and  events,  is  that  we  have  adopted,  be- 
cause it  is  free  from  obscurity  and  complexity  ;  and 
every  portion  falls  into  its  j)roper  place,  as  if  by  its 
own  specific  gravity  ;  —  the  First  Part,  treating  of 
the  Niagara  Strait,  its  topography  and  leading 
characteristics,  and  the  towns,  villages,  fortifica- 
tions, and  other  improvements  on  its  borders  ;  ihe 
Second,  of  the  Falls,  and  other  remarkable  scenes 
in' their  vicinity  ;  to  every  part  of  which,  in  proper 
succession,  the  reader  is  *  guided'  by  full  direc- 
tions, easy  to  be  understood,  and  to  follow  ;  and 
the  Third  and  last,  of  the  history  of  the  Falls,  and 
of  the  casualties,  adventures,  incidents,  etc.  which 


It 


VI 


INTRODUCTION. 


might  be    su])posed  interesting  to  peruse,  and  de- 
sirable to  know. 

Cherishing  the  hope,  that  we  have  in  this  vol- 
ume, produced  a  "clidk  to  the  falls,"  of  pleas- 
ing aspect  and  agreeable  manners ;  one,  that 
neither  morose,  indillerent,  nor  yet  too  garrulous, 
has  honesty  without  insolence,  vivacity  without 
caprice,  and  enthusiasm  without  atl'ectation  ;  we 
commend  this,  our  first  literary  banthng,  to  the 
castigation  of  critics,  by  which  it  may  be  improv- 
ed, and  to  the  favour  of  the  public,  by  whom  we 
hope  to  be  rewarded. 


N  OTE.  —  Since  this  work  I)as  been  in  press,  some  changes 
and  improvements  liave  been  made.  Our  friend,  Mr.  C.  B. 
Griffin,  has  taken  the  Clifton  House,  from  wliich  Mr.  Chrysler 
has  retired.  Whether  or  not,  tiie  Eaple  Hotel  will  pass  into 
new  hands,  is  yet  undecided.  At  tlie  Mineral  Sjiring,  a  Board- 
ing House,  and  Baths  have  been  erected,  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  visiters,  and  particularly  invalids.  The  sixty-seventh 
British  Infantry  have  been  ordered  home  to  England.  These 
are  the  most  important. 

Buffalo,  Ariiir,  1842. 


DIRECTIONS   TO   VISITERS. 


A  VING  arrived  at  the  Falls,  and 
b  chosen  your  hotel,  enter  your  name 
II  on  the  register,  secure  your  room, 

procure  a  copy  of  the  Pictorial 
J  Guide  to  Niagara  Falls,  which 
contains  many  views  of  the  cataract,  and  other 
objects  of  interest,  in  its  vicinity,  and  full  direc- 
tions for  finding  all  the  best  points  of  view,  so  as 
to  employ  your  time  to  the  most  advantage,  and 
proceed  at  once,  to  Prospect  Point,  from  which 
you  have  the  best  view  of  the  Falls,  on  the  Ameri- 
can side.  Feast  your  eyes  on  the  splendid  scenery 
of  river,  banks,  rapids,  and  cascades,  as  long  as 
you  desire  ;  and  then  pass  up  the  stream  and  along 
the  shore  to  the  bridge.  Cross  that  to  Bath  Island, 
register  your  name,  pay  twenty-five  cents  toll,  and 
then  continue  on  to  Iris  Island.  Having  ascended 
the  bank,  turn  to  the  right,  and  follow  the  path  to 
the  lower  end  of  the  Island.  Gaze  there  as  long 
as  you  list,  at  the  Central  and  American  Falls, 
and  the  magnificent  vista  of  river  and  cliff  below, 


«.* 


I 


VIU 


D  I  11  K  C  T  I  O  N  S 


and  tlien  cross  the  bridge  to  Prospect  Island,  and 
enjoy  a  most  magniiicent  view  ol"  the  American 
Fall. 

Returning  to  Iris  Island,  pass  on  round  it,  till 
you  reach  the  great  Fall.  Descend  the  bank  to 
the  Terrapin  Bridge,  and  from  the  rocks  at  its  ex- 
tremity, behold  majesty,  in^.mensiiy,  power,  gran- 
deur, and  beauty  I  Next  ascend  the  Terrapin 
Tower,  and  gaze  around,  above,  below.  Now, 
retrace  your  steps  to  the  Biddle  Stair-case,  pro- 
cure a  proper  dress,  and  descend  the  shaft  to  the 
base  of  the  precipice.  From  the  foot  of  the  Stair- 
case, pass  up  to  the  British  Fall,  and  bend  your 
wondering  gaze  upon  the  floods  that  come  tumb- 
ling down  the  cliff,  far,  far  above  you,  and  fall  in 
foam  and  thunder  at  your  feet.  Pass  behind  the 
sheet  as  far  as  you  can  or  dare  ;  and  returning, 
make  your  way  back  to  the  Stair-case,  pass  it  by, 
and  continue  on  to  the  Central  Fall,  and  the  Cave 
of  the  Winds.  Pause  for  a  moment,  to  survey 
the  scene  of  wonder  above  and  around  you  ;  de- 
scend the  giant  steps,  enter  the  regions  of  thunder 
and  spray,  and  to  the  last  hour  of  your  life,  you 
will  never  forget  that  cave,  its  sights,  and  sounds. 
Returning,  ascend  the  Biddle  steps,  change  your 
dress,  pay  the  charge,  and  then  complete  the  cir- 
cuit of  Iris  Island,  and  re-crossing  the  bridge,  rest 


TO    VISITERS. 


IX 


and 


and  refrosh   yourstll   tor  a  brief  seasun,   at  your 
hotel,  or  elsi'\vht'i«\ 

Tliatdour,  proceed  to  tlic  Ferry  Siair?«,  descend, 
take  a  view  of  the  Aineriean  Fall  from  its  foot, 
pass  heliind  tlie  sI^hM,  if  you  like,  and  then  cross 
the  river.  From  tlie  centre  of  the  stream,  you 
have  a  view  of  the  Falls  beyond  conception  grand. 
On  landing,  pay  your  ferriaije,  eighteen  and  three 
fourths  cents,  and  ascend  by  a  smoolli  carriage 
road,  to  the  top  of  the  bank,  where  another  glori- 
ous view  of  the  Falls  is  presented.  Proceed  along 
the  brow  of  the  baidi  to  Table  Ilock,  and  if  the 
sublime  and  beautiful  liave  any  charms  for  you, 
or  the  awful  and  terrible  any  power  to  thrill,  you 
cannot  there  remain  unmovjMJ. 

At  the  budding,  just  below  Table  Rock,  procure 
a  change  of  dress,  and  a  guide,  and  then  descend 
the  winding  stairs,  and  pass  up  to  the  foot  of  the 
Horse-shoe  Full.  Give  to  the  grandeur  of  this 
scene  a  few  moji.ents'  observation,  and  tlien  fol- 
low your  guide  through  the  driving  spray,  to  Ter- 
mination Rock,  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  behind 
the  hangmg  tapestry  of  floods.  That  scene  will 
never  fade  from  your  memory  —  it  is  grand,  im- 
pressive, and  even  awful.  Emerging  from  this 
home  of  the  mist -throned  thunder,  ascend  the 
stairs,  change  your  dress,  register  your  name,  re- 


I 


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1 


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1)  1  li  F.  C  T  I  O  N  S . 

ceive  a  certificate,  pay  the  charge,  and  return 
along  the  bank  to  the  Museum. 

A  short  visit  to  tliis  fine  collection  of  natural 
and  artificial  curiosities,  will  not  be  regretted. 
From  the  piazza,  you  can  enjoy  a  glorious  view 
of  the  whole  crescent  of  cataracts,  the  rapids 
above  and  the  abyss  below.  Leaving  the  Muse- 
um, return  to  the  ferry,  cross  the  river,  and  re- 
gain your  hotel.  You  have  seen  enough  for  once, 
now  rest  and  refresh  yourself,  reflect  upon  what 
you  have  beheld,  examine  your  guide  book,  and 
decide  what  points  you  ore  next  to  visit. 

In  Part  II.  of  this  woik,  more  particular  direc- 
tions are  given  for  such  a  round  of  observation, 
as  that  sketched  above,  which  is  designed  only 
for  a  kind  of  general  index  or  chart,  to  guide  the 
visiter  in  his  first  impatient  movements.  Take 
the  book  v/ith  you,  refer  to  it  as  occasion  sug- 
gests, or  requires,  and  you  will  not  only  he  guided 
rii^ht,  but  will  overlook  nothing' 

If  you  arrive  at  ihe  Falls  on  the  Canada  side, 
the  order  of  your  examination  will  be  so  far  revers- 
ed, that  you  will  first  visit  the  several  points  and 
obtain  the  views  mentioned  as  on  that  shore,  and 
then,  crossing  the  ferry,  be  guided  by  the  direc- 
tions given  above. 


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> 


CONTENTS. 

PART    I. 

NIAGARA  STRAIT  AND  THE  BORDERING  SETTLEMENTS. 

CHAPTER    I. 

The  Cataract  —  how  fortiiLMi  —  River  —  St.  Lawrence  —  Sup- 
ply of  water?  —  Sitii.ition  oftlio  Falls  —  Origin  ami  meaning  of 
the  name  —  Chinafo  —  Aiiiin.ite  an  inanimate  Hfe  —  General 
aspect  —  Natural  religion — Inducements  to  vis  ".ers  —  Routes 

of  approach: — Page, 17 

CHAPTER    II. 

Buffalo  —  its  situation  —  harbour  —  light-house  —  history- 
buildings —  hotels  —  R  itlihiui  —  his  enterprise  —  Forgeries  — 
imprisonment  —  fate  —  'I'lu;  Excliango  —  The  City — its  pros- 
pects—  Steam  and  otiier  ho.its  —  Government  Works  —  Excur- 
sions—  Rail-roads  —  Ci)iiveyance  to  tlie  Falls  : — Page,  .  27 
CHAPTER    III. 

Fort  Erie  —  situation  and  architecture  —  surrender  —  siege 
—  Ruins  —  Waterloo  —  Black  Rock  —  Rivalry  —  General  Por- 
ter—  Tonawaiuia  —  vilhigo  and  creek  —  catfish  and  agues  — 
Schlosser    Landing  —  Cliinpewa  —  Creek  —  Battle     Ground  — 


Fort  Schlosser  :  —  P 


41 


CHAPTER    IV. 

Village  of  Niagara  Falls  —  Eagle  Hotel  —  Mr.  Hooker  and 
sons  —  Cataract  Hotel  —  (ion,  Whitney  —  Niagara  Falls  Hotel 
—  Rathbun's  enterprise  —  City  of  the  Falls  —  Clifton  —  Clifton 
House  —  Col.  Chrysler  —  Pavilion  Hotel  —  Camera  Ohscura  — 

Museum,  etc. : — Pago, 51 

CH  A  PT  ER   V. 

Mountain  plain  —  Lewistori  —  Quecnston  —  Youngstown  — 
Niagara  Vill.ige  —  Fort  Cnirgo  —  Fort  Massasauga  —  Fort  Ni- 
agara—  Traditions  —  Indian     incursions  —  Surprisal  —  Abduc- 


I 


Xll 


CONTENTS. 


lion  and  murder  of  Mor^Mii  —  Repairs  —  Additions  and  Arma- 
ment:—  Page, 65 

CHAPTER    VI. 

Niagara  Strait  —  breadth  — doptli  —  rajii  Is  —  general  appear- 
ance—  navigation  —  Steam  Boats —  Fulton  —  Islands  —  Grand 
Island  —  Boston  Timber  Coin|)aiiy  —  Village  —  Mills  —  Vessels 
destroyed  —  Buck-horn  Island — Navy  Island  —  Military  occu- 
pation :  —  Pc 


0^1 


75 

CHAP  r  1:  R  V  1 1. 

Niagara  River  —  course  and  velocity  —  loveliness  —  divisions 
and  characteristics  —  height  of  banks  —  de[)th  — breadth  — de- 
scent of  the  stream  —  Retrocession  of  the  Falls  —  Concluding 
remarks :  —  Page, 84 


PART    II. 

THE  CATARACT  ANI>  OTHKU  Ol'JF.CTS  OF  CURIOSITY. 

CHAPTER    I. 

Apostrophe  to  the  Falls —First  feeling  —  General  features 

—  The  Rapids  —  Cascades  —  For!n  and  size  of  the  Cataract  — 
Spray  —  The  Abyss  —  Water  carricnl  over-  Roar  —  Baromet- 
rical—  Vibrations  of  tlie  Earth  —  Hues   and  Tints  —  Scenery 

—  Summer  —  Autumn  —  Winter  —  Ice-Bridge  —  Design  of  the 
Creator:— Page, 93 

CHAPTER    II. 

Preliminary  Remarks  —  Direct  ions  —  Prospect  Point  —  View 

on  the  Canada  Side  —  Views  on  the  American  Side  —  Prospect 

Place  —  American     Fall  —  Waro's     01)servatory  —  Bridge    to 

Bath    Island  —  Toll  House  — Mr.    Jacobs  —  Mastodon    Tooth 

—  Ship  and  Brig  Islands  —  Lover's  Retreat  —  Popping  the 
Question: — Page,      .     .     .     .     • Ill 

CH/XPTER    III. 
Iris  Island  —  Names,  Initials  and  Dates  on  the  Trees  —  The 


C  C »  N  T  E  N  T  S  . 


XI 11 


Hog's  Back  —  Central  Fall — I'lospcct  Island  —  View  of  the 
American  Fall  —  Other  Islands  —  F'lotilcs  on  the  rock  —  Rain- 
bow—  Terrapin  Bridge  and  Kotks  —  Uorse-shoc  Fall  —  Pros- 


pect Tower :  —  Page, 


121 


CIIAP'J'ER    IV. 

Blddle  Stair-case  —  Angling  —  Sam  Patch  —  Mr.  Smith  — 
Fancied  Danger  —  Britisii  Fall  —  Lower  Fishing-Rock  —  Cave 
of  the  Winds  —  Foot  of  Prospect  Island  —  Passing  under  the 
American  Fall  —  Circnit  of  the  Island  —  Encroachment  of  the 
River  —  Moss  Island  —  Three  Sisters  —  Head  of  Iris  Island  — 

Mounds  and  Skeletons  :  —  Page, 131 

CHAPTER    V. 

Ferry  Stairs  —  Catlin's  Cave  —  CliantCavc  —  View  from  the 
River  —  Road  up  the  Bank  —  Grand  view  of  the  Falls  —  View 
from  Table  Rock  —  Table  Ruck  —  Disruptions  —  Vari  '1  ap- 
pearance of  the  Fall  —  Starkcy's  Rooms  —  Staircase  —  View 
from  below  —  Termination  Rock —  IMuscum  —  Camera  Obscu- 
ra  —  Iris  Island  at  night:  —  P^'go, 147 

CHAPTER    VI. 

Remarks  and  Advice  —  Good  Counsel  —  Public  Garden  — 
Road  down  the  Bank  —  Indian  Ladder  —  Point  View  —  Miner- 
al Spring — View  of  the  cataract  —  Wiiirlpool  Rapids  —  Whirl- 
pool Lodge  —  Whirlpool  —  Bodies  —  Descent  —  Varied  Aspect 
—  Raft  in  the  Whirlpool —Devil's  Hole  — Hewlett's  Cellar  — 
Lewiston  Heights  : — Page, 166 

CHAPTERVII. 

Queenston  Heights  —  Brock's  Monument  —  blown  up  —  Cove 
or  Chasm  —  Whirlpool —  Bcncackie  Point,  view  from  —  Muddy 
Run  —  Cascade  —  Bank  opjjosite  —  Bender's  Cave  —  Improve- 
ments—  Channel  —  Lundy's  Lane  —  Street's  Point  —  Burning 
Spring  —  Bridge  water  —  Ch  ippc  wa  —  Bat  tie  ground  —  Conclu- 
ding Remarks: —  Page, 182 


f-rr- 


XIV 


CONTENTS. 


PART    III. 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH,  ACCIDE.VTS  AND  ADVENTURES. 

CHAPTER    I. 

Early  History  of  tlie  Falls  —  fVencli  Est;il)lishments  —  Expe- 
dition of  LiiSallo  —  Hennci)iri's  tour  of  Exploration  —  other  vis- 
iters—  Changes  in  the  Cataract  —  Want  of  Data,  etc,     .     199 

CHAPTER    II. 
Accidents  at  the  Falls  —  Traditionary  Reminiscence  —  Loss 
of  the  Boat  Indej)endence  —  Other  Casualties  —  Death  of  Dr. 
Hungerford  —  Concluding  Remarks  :  —  Page,      ....     200 
CHAPTER    III. 
Vessels  sent  over  the  Falls  —  Schooner  Michigan  —  Schoon- 
er Superior —  Ship  Detroit  —  Sublime   Spectacle  —  Adventur- 
ous Daring  —  Danger  and  rescue  of  Ciiapin  —  of  Allen  —  the 

Meed  of  Merit  ".  —  Page, 210 

CHAPTER    IV. 
Patriot  occupation  of  Navy  Island  —  Employ  of  the  Caroline 
—  Misrepresentation  and  Resolve  —  Caroline  Attacked  —  Dur- 
fee  murdered  —  Vessel  fired  and  sent  over  the  Falls  —  Evacu- 
ation of  the  Island  :  —  Page, 214 

CHAPTER    V. 
Hermit  of  the  Falls  —  his  arrival  at  Niagara  —  effect  of  the 
scenery  —  his  habits,  manners,   and  endowments  —  residence 

and  death  —  other  particulars  :  —  Page, 221 

CHAPTER    VI. 
Massacre  at  the   Devil's  Hole: — British  Convoy  —  Indian 
Ambuscade  —  Attack,  Surprise,  Defeat,  Catastrophe  —  Escape 
of  Steadman  and  one  other  —  Relics,  etc,:  —  Page,      .     .    224 
CHAPTER    VII. 
Noah's  Folly :  —  Brilliant  Conception  —  Unparalleled  Proc- 
lamation—  Magnificent  Pageantry  —  Memorials  of  these  W^on- 
derfulEvents  — Sublime  Finale:  — Page 229 


rURES. 

—  Expe- 
'thervis- 

.    199 

3  —  Loss 

h  of  Dr. 

.    206 

Sclioon- 

Iventur- 

(n  — the 

.     210 

Caroline 

—  Dur- 
Evacu- 

.    214 

of  the 

sidence 

•    221 

Indian 
Escape 
.    224 

Proc- 
Won- 
.    229 


b' 


I 


nrv    K  I  ■'  fii      t:  '■.  ■  •  '    !'  '<■  I 


'^*-^^l*'''''''^'**'''^' 

#' 


.''K 


..,„.»«»;v,Ki' 


.v«V 


n,.ir„i. 


PICTORIAL  GUIDE 


TO 


NIAGARA    FALLS. 


PART     I. 


NIAGARA    STRAIT 


AND     THE 


BORDERING     SETTLEMENTS. 


"  Unchanging  form !  unceasing  roar ! 

Niagara,  —  what  art  thou? 

Spray  —  Thunder  —  Foam  — 

The  breath  —  the  voice  —  the  robes  of  G  o  D 1" 


n 


NIAGARA. 

There's  nothing  great  or  bright,  thou  glorious  Fall! 
Thou  may'st  not  to  the  fuiicy's  sense  recall  — 
The  thunder-riven  cloud,  tiie  lightning's  leap, 
The  stirring  oftiie  ciianibers  oftlie  deep, 
Earth's  emerald  green,  and  many-tinted  dyes, 
The  fleecy-whiteness  of  tiie  upper  skies, 
The  tread  of  armies,  thick'ning  as  they  come, 
The  boom  of  cannon,  and  the  beat  of  drum, 
The  brow  of  beauty,  and  the  form  of  grace. 
The  passion,  and  the  prowess  of  our  race. 
The  song  of  Homer  in  its  loftiest  hour, 
The  unresisted  sweep  of  Roman  power, 
Britannia's  trident  on  tiie  azure  sea, 
America's  young  shout  of  liberty  ! 

Oh  !  may  the  wars  that  madden  in  thy  deeps. 
There  spend  their  rage,  nor  climb  th*  encircling  steeps  ; 
And,  till  the  conflict  of  thy  surges  cease, 
The  Nations  on  thy  banks  repose  in  peace ! 

Morpeth. 
Nov.  3,  ISU. 


H 


PICTORIAL  GUIDE 


all! 


TO 


NIAGARA    FALLS. 


eeps 


CHAPTER    I. 

THE  CATARACT  —  HOW  FORMED  —  RIVER  —  ST.  LAWRENCE  — 
SUPPLY  OF  WATERS  —  SITUATION  OF  THE  FALLS  —  ORIGIN  AND 
MEANING  OF  THE  NAME  —  CLIMATE  —  ANIMATE  AND  INANI- 
MATE LIFE — GENERAL  ASPECT  —  NATURAL  RELIGION — IN- 
DUCEMENTS TO  VISITERS  —  ROUTES  OF  APPROACH. 

NIAGARA. 

Shrine  of  Omnipotence!    How  vast,  how  grand, 
How  awful,  yet  how  beautiful  art  thou ! 
Pillar'd  around  by  everlasting  hills, 
Robed  in  the  drapery  of  descending  floods, 
Crowned  by  the  rainbow,  canopied  by  clouds 
That  roll  in  incense  up  from  thy  dread  base, 
Hid  by  their  mantling  o'er  the  vast  abyss. 
Upon  whose  verge  thou  standest,  whence  ascends 
The  mighty  anthem  of  thy  Maker's  praise, 
Hymn'd  in  eternal  tliunders ! 

ATURE  has  many  waterfalls,  a 
few  cataracts — one  Niagara  1  That 
stands  alone,  vast,  grand,  indescrib- 
able I  — the  mighty  alembic  in  which 
^^the  world  of  waters  is  refined  and 
etherealized  !  — the    august    throne   upon  which 

B 


18 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


h ! 


Nature  sits,  clothed  in  the  glorious  attributes  of 
power  and  beauty!  —  the  everlasting  altar,  at 
whose  cloud-wrapt  base  the  elements  pay  homage 
to  Omnipotence  !  —  The  floods  that  pour  down  its 
tremendous  heights,  seem  gushing  from  the  open- 
ed heavens,  and  plunging  into  the  depths  of  the 
unfathomable  abyss!  —  Air  groans,  earth  trem- 
bles, deep  calleth  unto  deep,  and  answering  thun- 
ders roll  up  the  vast  empyrean  !  Like  a  seething 
hell  the  gulf  below  sends  up  the  smoke  of  its 
torment,  and  the  foam  of  agony  thickens  upon  the 
face  of  the  dread  profound,  while  far  above  upon 
the  verge  of  the  precipice,  sits  the  sweet  Iris  —  like 
faith  upon  a  dying  martyr's  brow  —  arching  the 
fearful  chasm  with  its  outspread  arms,  and  smiling 
through  all  the  terrors  of  the  scene. 

Bright  bow  of  Promise ! 
Sit  ever  thus  upon  the  beetling  brow 
Of  the  dread  cataract,  which  but  for  thee 
Were  all  too  terrible :  —  Smile  ever  thus, 
Making  that  beautiful  which  else  were  hideous. 

This  cataract,  the  most  wonderful  and  amazing 
curiosity  in  the  natural  world,  is  formed  by  the 
precipitous  descent  of  the  river  Niagara  down  a 
ledge  of  rocks  of  more  than  one  hundred  and  sixty 
feet  perpendicular  height,  into  an  abyss  or  basin 
below,  of  unknown,  but  probably  much  greater 


TO   NIAGARA    FALLS. 


19 


azmg 
y  the 
vn  a 

ixty 
|)asin 

ater 


depth.  The  river  Niagara  is  that  portion  of  the 
St.  Lawrence,  by  which  the  lakes  Erie  and  Onta- 
tario*  are  united.  It  is  the  outlet  by  which  the 
vast  volume  of  surplus  waters  of  those  great  inland 
seas,  Erie,  Huron,  Michigan,  Superior,  and  of  the 
St.  Clair  and  other  smaller  lakes  and  streams,  is 
poured  into  lake  Ontario,  from  whence,  by  the 
river  and  gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  it  finds  its  way  to 
the  Atlantic  ocean.  The  St.  Lawrence  is  one  of 
the  largest  and  longest  rivers  on  the  globe,  having 
its  source  in  the  rocky  mountains,  many  hundred 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  and  distant  from 
the  ocean  into  which  it  flows,  more  than  two 
thousand  miles. 

Some  idea  of  the  immense  quantity  of  water 
forced  over  the  falls  of  Niagara,  may  be  formed 
from  the  fact,  that  the  lakes  and  tributaries  which 
supply  the  river  Niagara,  cover  a  surface  of  not 
less  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  square 
miles  ;  and  contain,  as  nearly  as  can  be  estimated, 
about  one  half  of  all  the  fresh  water  on  the  globe. 
The  land  surface  drained  by  this  vast  extent  of 
lakes  and  rivers,  measures  scarcely  less  than  half 
a  million  of  square  miles.     While  the  earth  and 


*  This  lake  was  formerly  called  Lake  Frontenac,  after  a 
French  Count  of  that  name,  who  was  erst  Governor  of  Canada. 


20 


PICTORIAL   GUIDE 


the  oporations  of  nature  continue  without  material 
cliango,  Niagara  must  ever  exliibit  a  eccnc  of 
undiminished  grandeur  and  sublimity. 

This  stupendous  cataract  is  situate  in  latitude 
43°  C  north,  and  longitude  2^6'  west  from  Wash- 
ington. It  is  twenty-two  miles  north  from  the 
efflux  of  the  river,  at  Lake  Erie  ;  and  fourteen 
miles  south,  from  the  introgression  of  the  stream 
into  Lake  Ontario.  The  whole  length  of  the  river 
is  therefore,  thirty-six  miles  —  its  general  course 
is  a  few  points  to  the  west  of  north.  Though 
commonly  called  a  river,  this  portion  of  the  St. 
Lawrence  is,  more  properly  speaking,  a  strait, 
connecting  as  above  mentioned,  the  lakes  Eric  and 
Ontario,  and  conducting  the  superfluous  waters  of 
the  great  seas  and  streams  above,  through  a  broad 
and  divided,  and  afterwards  compressed,  devious 
and  irregular  channel,  to  the  latter  lake,  into 
which  it  empties  —  the  point  of  union  being  about 
forty  miles  from  the  western  extremity  of  the  lake. 

Niagara  is  a  word  of  Indian  origin  —  the  orthog- 
raphy, accentuation,  and  meaning  of  which  are 
variously  given  by  different  authors.  It  is  highly 
probable  that  this  diversity  might  be  accounted  for 
and  explained,  by  tracing  the  appellation  through 
the  dialects  of  the  several  tribes  of  aborigines, 
who  formerly  inhabited  the  neighbouring  country. 


'I 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


21 


natcrial 
:ciic  of 

latitude 
Wash- 
om  the 
3urteen 
stream 
le  river 
course 
riiough 
the  St. 

STRAIT, 

ric  and 

ters  of 

broad 

evious 

into 
about 
lake, 
rthog- 

are 
lighly 
edfor 
ough 
jines, 
ntry. 


t 


I 

m 


I 


Such  an  investigation,  however  interesting  to  the 
philologist,  would  i)resent  but  little  m  raction  to 
the  general  reader,  and  is  theri'fore  quite  foreign 
to  our  present  purpose.  Tl/f"re  is  reason  to  believe 
that  the  etymon  belongs  to  the  language  of  the 
Iroquois,  and  signifies  the  Thunder  of  Waters. 
The  word  Niagara  has  also  been  defined  **  a  larffc 
neck  (or  strait  J  of  water  j"  —  **  across  the  neck  (or 
strait)  of  water,**  —  "  a  fall  of  icater,*'  —  *^  broken 
water,"  —  **  running  icater"  —  *'  the  voice  of  wa- 
tcrs,"  etc.  That  this  name  was  applied  by  the 
natives  to  the  river  (or  strait)  as  well  as  to  the 
cataract  itself,  is  certain :  •^adjectively,  it  has  been 
retained  by  both  —  substantively,  it  should  belong 
to  the  latter. 

The  climate  of  Niagara  is  in  the  highest  degree 
healthful  and  invigorating.  The  atmosphere,  con- 
stantly acted  upon  by  the  rushing  water,  the  noise 
and  the  spray,  is  kept  pure,  refreshing,  and  salu- 
tary. There  are  no  stagnant  pools  or  marshes  near, 
to  send  abroad  their  fcetid  exhalations,  and  noxious 
miasmas,  poisoning  the  air  and  producing  disease. 
The  face  of  the  country  for  miles  around,  though 
nearly  level,  or  but  slightly  undulating,  is  yet  so 
elevated,  as  to  be  neither  damp,  disagreeable,  nor 
unwholesome.  No  pestilential  or  epidemic  com- 
plaints ever  infest  this  spot;  —  it  is  sacred  from 


1 


22 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


their  approach.  E\en  the  cholera  kept  aloof  from 
its  raging  waters. 

Sweet-breathing  herbs,  and  beautiful  wild  flow- 
ers spring  up  spontaneously  even  on  the  sides,  and 
in  the  crevices  of  the  giant  rocks ;  and  luxuriant 
clusters  of  firs  and  other  fine  forest  trees,  cover 
the  islands,  crown  the  clifls,  and  overhang  the 
banks  of  Niagara,  where  their  emerald  foliage  wan- 
tons with  the  feather-footed  spray  to  the  music  of 
its  roar,  and  they  grow  and  gladden  in  the  bounty 
of  its  breath  and  the  joy  of  its  presence. 

Here  are  no  moschetoes  to  annoy,  no  reptiles  to 
alarm,  and  no  wild  animals  to  intimidate; — yet 
there  is  life  and  vivacity.  The  many-hued  butterfly 
sips  ambrosia  from  the  fresh-opened  honey-cup  — 
birds  carol  their  lays  of  love  among  the  spray-star- 
red branches —  and  the  lively  squirrel  skips  chatter- 
ing from  tree  to  tree.  Varieties  of  water-fowl  sport 
among  the  rapids,  the  sea-gull  plays  around  the 
precipice,  and  the  Eagle  —  the  banner-bird  of  free- 
dom— hovers  above  the  cataract,  plumes  his  grey 
pinions  in  its  curling  mists,  and  makes  his  home 
among  the  giant  firs  of  its  inaccessible  islands. 

Around  the  Falls  all  is  soft,  yet  exciting — the 
cataract  itself,  terrible  yet  attractive.  It  has  a 
fearful  yet  fascinating  beauty,  a  dreadful  but  allur- 
ing greatness.     Apt  emblem  of  Diviniry  !   it  awes 


its 


TO    NIAGARA    FA  LLS. 


23 


while  it  invites  —  and  while  it  commands  reve- 
rence, it  secures  affection.  Nature,  as  if  by  a 
revelation  of  her  beauty  and  majesty,  to  teach  us 
a  religion  in  which  justice  is  softened  by  mercy, 
and  authority  sweetened  by  love,  has  here  con- 
centrated her  powers  of  thrilling  and  exciting, 
and  gathered  round  one  holy  spot  of  earth  ali 
that  can  awe  and  terrify,  with  all  that  inspires 
and  delights. 

The  great  features  of  Niagara  are  ever  the 
same,  but  their  individual  expression  is  constantly 
changing.  With  every  season,  with  every  sun- 
beam, with  every  shade  they  assume  a  different 
appearance,  inspire  a  fresh  interest,  and  exact  a 
new  admiration. 

Serener  skies  and  a  more  salubrious  atmos- 
phere are  nowhere  to  be  found.  Add  to  this  the 
ocean-formed,  rock-pillared,  cloud-mantled  cata- 
ract, and  the  marvels  and  glories  by  which  this 
most  sublime  and  stupendous  of  all  natural  won- 
ders is  surrounded,  and  what  man  or  woman  pos- 
sessing leisure  and  means,  would  not  desire  to 
visit  Niagara,  if  but  to  pay  the  homage  of  a  day's 
admiration  at  this  altar  and  type  of  the  Eternal. 
An  hour  at  the  foot  of  Niagara  would  amply 
reward  a  pilgrimage  from  Timbuctoo  or  Pekin  ; 
and   yet  one  can   scarcely  begin    to    realize   its 


'•w 

ii 

U 


24 


PICTORIAL   GUIDE 


grandeur,  immensity,  sublimity,  and  beauty,  in 
less  than  the  lapse  of  days. 

No  place  on  the  civilized  earth  offers  such  attrac- 
tions and  inducements  to  visiters  as  Niagara,  and 
they  can  never  be  fully  known  except  to  those 
who  see  them,  from  the  utter  impossibility  of  des- 
cribing such  a  scene  as  this  wonderful  cataract 
presents: — when  motion  can  be  expressed  by 
colour,  there  will  be  some  hope  of  imparting  a 
faint  idea  of  it — but  until  that  can  be  done, 
Niagara  must  remain  undescribed. 

The  invalid  may  here  find  rest,  refreshment, 
healthful  exercise,  and  pure  air,  and  that  gentle 
exhilaration  of  mental  and  bodily  spirits,  so  desir- 
able in  all  cases,  and  often  so  necessary  to  a 
speedy  recovery.  The  convalescent  will  here  be 
relieved  from  the  languor  of  weakness,  and  much 
of  the  danger  of  relapse,  by  the  pleasurable  excite- 
ment scenes  of  such  extreme  beauty  and  majesty 
must  ever  produce.  The  business  man,  desirous 
of  escaping  for  a  time  the  troublous  round  of  toil 
and  care  in  which  he  commonly  moves,  can  here 
enjoy  his  leisure,  and  dignify  his  relaxation.  The 
merchant  or  planter,  flying  for  a  season  from  the 
fever-smitten  cities  and  fields  of  the  south,  will 
find  here  the  safety  he  covets,  and  the  happiness 
he  cannot  but  desire. 


Ill 


and 


M 


-J 


TO   NIAGARA    FALLS. 


25 


The  man  of  science  can  nowhere  else  find  such 
an  ample  field  for  research,  nor  a  subject  which 
would  so  much  honour  investigation  ;  for,  destined 
to  be  the  wonder  of  all  time,  Niagara  is  yet  almost 
entirely  unknown,  though  the  world  is  full  of  its 
fame.  What  chronicles  of  past  ages  may  there 
not  be  niched  in  these  eternal  walls  1  — what  mon- 
uments of  mighty  changes  sculptured  on  these 
hoary  rocks?  This  mountain-rent  chasm  is  an 
unsealed  volume  of  the  past !  Who  has  the  skill 
to  divine  its  mystic  lore — to  decipher  its  time- 
traced  pages  ?  —  Let  him  come  I 

The  lover  of  nature  can  here  gratify  his  longing, 
and  hold  sweet  communion  with  the  object  of  his 
adoration  ;  nay,  more,  he  will  find  here  the  temple 
of  his  divinity,  and  may  stand  beneath  the  very 
arches  of  its  altar  !  Every  one  who  has  an  eye  to 
perceive,  a  heart  to  feel,  and  a  soul  to  realize  the 
grandest  exhibitions  of  creative  energy,  and  the 
mightiest  manifestations  of  Omnipotent  power, 
will  here  find  an  answer  to  his  highest  aspirations, 
a  favourable  response  to  his  desire  for  the  spirit- 
kindling  ecstacy  of  emotion. 

There  is  however  one  class  of  people,  (at  least 
we  fear  there  is,)  those  who  cannot  relish  the  vast 
unless  it  descends  to  the  vulgar,  nor  enjoy  the  sub- 
lime, unless  it  stoops  to  the  sensual  —  for  whom 


.  i 


i 


ii 


;! 


26 


PICTORIAL   GUIDE 


neither  Heaven  above,  nor  Niagara  on  earth  were 
ever  intended ;  and  they  (if  there  be  any  such,) 
are  especially  requested  to  keep  as  far  from  the 
latter  place,  as  they  are  like  to  be  kept  from  the 
former.  Nothing  can  be  less  endurable  than 
being  bored  by  an  unmitigated  blockhead,  while 
gazing  upon  such  sublime  and  thrilling  scenes.  It 
is  like  Paradise  with  a  devil  —  only  worse ! 

There  are  various  routes  by  which  travellers 
from  distant  parts  of  the  country  approach  the 
Falls.  The  principal  ones  however,  terminate  at 
Buffalo,  the  commencement  of  steam-navigation 
on  lake  Erie  ;  or  at  Lewiston,  (or  Queenston, 
opposite,)  the  landing  place  of  the  lake  Ontario, 
and  St.  Lawrence  steamers.  From  either  of  these 
places,  it  is  a  short  ride  to  the  Falls,  and  there  are 
different  modes  of  conveyance.  The  traveller  will 
of  course,  suit  his  inclination  by  choosing  that 
which  pleases  him  best. 


rth  were 
y  such,) 
from  the 
rrom  the 
»Ie  than 
d,  while 

nes.     It 

r 

avellers 
ach  the 
Inate  at 
dgation 
enston, 
Ontario, 
)f  these 
re  are 
er  will 
that 


TO   NIAGARA    FALLS. 


27 


CHAPTER     II. 

BUFFALO — ITS  SITUATION — HARBOUR — MGHT-HOUSE  —  HIS- 
TORY—  BUILDINGS  —  HOTELS  — RATHBUN — IIIS  EN TKRI'UISE 
—  FORGERIES — IMPRISONMENT — FATE  —  THE  EXCHANGE  — 
THE  CITY  —  ITS  PROSPECTS  —  STEAM  AND  OTHER  BOATS  — 
GOVERNMENT  WORKS  —  EXCURSIONS  —  RAIL-ROADS  —  CON- 
VEYANCE TO  THE  FALLS. 

"  Queen  of  the  Lakes,  whose  trihutary  seas 
Stretch  from  the  frozen  regions  of  the  North 
To  Soiitliern  climates,  where  the  wanton  breeze 
O'er  field  and  forest  goes  rejoicing  forth :  — 

"Thou  art  the  sovereign  City  of  the  Lakes, 
Crowned  and  acknowledged  —  may  thy  fortunes  be 
Vast  as  the  domain  which  thine  empire  takes, 
And  onward,  as  thy  waters  to  the  sea." 

H  E  several  towns,  villages,  and 
other  important  places  bordering  on 
the  Niagara  strait,  claim  our  first 
attention,  and  will  be  noticed  in  the 
order  of  succession  suggested  by 
their  relative  situation,  begining  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  stream,  and  ending  with  its  termina- 
tion at  lake  Ontario.  This  arrangement,  following 
the  course  of  the  river,  is  sufficiently  recommended 
by  its  simplicity,  and  natural  harmony  of  parts. 
They  form  a  series  of  links  of  which  the  strait  is 
the  connecting  chain  ;  and  starting  at  the  lake 


I', 

iiii 


M 
II  1 


28 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


from  which  it  depends,  we  trace  it  down  to  that 
which  it  sustains.  Buffalo  is  then  the  proper 
point  of  departure,  and  from  that  city  we  accord- 
ingly set  forth. 


BUFFALO  FROM  ABOVE  FORT  ERIE,  U.  C. 

Buffalo,  the  Queen  of  the  Lakes,  Has  at  the 
foot  of  Lake  Erie,  at  the  mouth  of  Buffalo  Creek, 
at  the  effluence  of  the  Niagara  River,  or  Strait, 
and  at  the  head  of  the  Erie  Canal.  It  has  an 
excellent  harbour,  protected  by  a  massy  stone 
pier,  at  the  extremity  of  which,  there  is  a  sub- 
stantial stone  light-house,  constructed  of  the  best 


1  to  that 

B  proper 

accord- 


i 

-  ■■— r-:-. 

I  at  the 
'reek, 
•trait, 
|as  an 
stone 
sub- 
best 


A'A 


i 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


29 


materials,  and  in  the  most  durable   manner  —  a 
perfect  model  of  that  kind  of  architecture. 

It  was  laid  out  in  1801,  became  a  military  post 
in  1812,  was  burnt  by  the  British  in  1813,  was 
incorporated  as  a  village  in  1823,  and  chartered  as 
a  city  in  1832.  It  is  divided  into  five  wards,  and 
contains  about  two  thousand  houses,  and  nearly 
twenty  thousand  inhabitants.  Most  of  the  build- 
ings are  good,  many  of  them  large,  and  quite  a 
number  uncommonly  spacious  and  elegant. 

There  are  thirteen  churches,  two  large  markets, 
a  splendid  theatre,  a  fine  court-house,  and  several 
other  public  edifices  of  creditable  size  and  architec- 
ture. The  principal  hotels  are,  the  American 
Hotel,  the  Western  Hotel,  the  Mansion  House, 
and  the  United  States  Hotel.  These  are  all  large 
and  well  conducted,  and  pleasantly  situate.  The 
two  first  have  a  fine  and  commanding  appearance, 
and  are  surmounted  by  noble  domes,  from  whence 
extensive  views  are  presented  of  the  city,  lake, 
river  and  surrounding  country. 

The  Mansion  House  at  the  junction  of  Main  and 
Exchange  streets,  and  opposite  to  the  Terrace 
Market,  is  an  old-estabUshed  and  excellent  stand, 
conveniently  near  the  principal  points  of  depar- 
ture, of  high  reputation,  and  deserving  a  generous 
share  of  patronage.      Under  the  management  of 


30 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


its  present   worthy  and  experienced  proprietors, 
Messrs.   Hall    and  Van  Tuyl,   we  are  confident 


that  it  will  merit  and  receive  ample  assurances  of 
public  favour. 

The  Western  Hotel,  an  extensive  and  beauti- 
ful building,  at  the  intersection  of  Pearl-street  with 
the  Terrace,  is  just  completed,  and  opened  under 
the  most  flattering  auspices.  The  site  of  this  noble 
hotel  is  very  fine  ;  and  its  proximity  to  the  har- 
bour, the  canal,  and  the  rail-roads,  commends  it 
to  the  patronage  of  business  men ;  while  its  exten- 
sive accommodations,  and  the  unsurpassed  views 
it  affords  of  the  Lake,  the  Niagara  River,  and  the 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


31 


prietors, 
onfident 


Inces  of 

Ibeauti- 

et  with 

under 

noble 

har- 

nds  it 

lexten- 

views 

dthe 


<" 


Canada  shore,  make  it  an  attractive  sojourn  for 
pleasure-travellers.      Its  numerous  advantages  of 


construction  and  position,  assure  its  becoming  im- 
mediately one  of  the  most  popular,  and  best  sus- 
tained hotels  in  the  country. 

The  American  Hotel  is  one  of  the  best  and  most 
commodious  in  the  Union,  and  cost  nearly  one 
hundred  thousand  dollars.  This  hotel,  the  theatre, 
several  of  the  churches,  and  a  large  number  of 
other  buildings,  comprising  many  of  the  best  in 
the  city,  were  erected  by  Benjamin  Rathbun,  to 
whom,  more  than  to  any  other  individual,  Buffalo 


32 


PICTORIAL   GUIDE 


is  indebted   for  its   present  size,  prosperity  and 
beauty. 


Possessing  a  powerful  and  ambitious  mind,  and 
a  vigorous,  though  not  robust  frame  of  body,  he 
was  enabled  to  conceive  and  carry  on  a  scheme  of 
improvements,  as  gigantic  and  comprehensive  in 
its  extent,  as  it  was  lamentable  and  unfortunate  to 


ity  and 


% 


M 


|nd,  and 
►dy,  he 
leme  of 
isive  in 
mate  to 


TO   NIAGARA    FALLS. 


33 


him  in  its  result.  The  streets  were  filled  with 
his  men,  teams,  and  materials ;  his  store-houses, 
work-shops,  and  stables  formed,  as  it  were,  villages 
of  themselves ;  and  he,  a  plain,  frugal,  unobtru- 
sive, but  active  and  talented  man,  was  the  '^  Girard 
of  the  West."  Industrious,  persevering,  indefati- 
gable, he  had  but  one  great  fault,  and  that  he  is 
now  ©xpiciiliig  in  the  penitentiary.  He  trusted 
too  implicitly  in  others. 

The  whole  management  and  control  of  all  the 
financial  afl^airs,  growing  out  of,  and  united  with 
his  extensive  business  and  building  operations, 
were  intrusted  to  persons  connected  with  him  by 
the  closest  ties  of  blood  and  interest,  whose  integ- 
rity he  could  not  doubt,  and  of  whose  affection  he 
felt  fully  assured.  By  these  persons  a  system  of 
forgery,  narrow  at  first,  but  widening  rapidly  as 
time  advanced,  was  commenced,  and  continued, 
—  solely,  however,  for  convenience,  and  not  from 
any  intention  to  defraud,  —  for  many  months  be- 
fore it  came  to  his  knowledge.  When  it  did,  he 
made  every  exertion  in  his  power  to  call  in  the 
fictitious  paper  they  had  issued,  and  in  the  effort 
to  accomplish  this,  and  when  at  the  very  point  of 
success,  he  fell  a  victim  to  the  rapacity  and  du- 
plicity of  men,  who  had  all  been  benefitted,  almost 

enriched  by  his  exertions  and  improvements  ;  and 
c 


I 


34 


PICTORIAL   GUIDE 


some  of  whom  were  under  personal  obligations  to 
him  for  many,  and  by  no  means  inconsiderable^ 
favours. 

He  was  arrested,  thrown  into  prison,  and  immur- 
ed in  a  cell  about  three  feet  by  seven,  where  he  lan- 
guished for  nearly  two  years.  His  vast  property 
was  seized  upon,  under  a  deed  of  assignment, 
obtained  by  artifice  ;  and  thus  fettered  and  power- 
less, he  was  left  to  contend  against  a  fate,  dreadful 
to  him,  but  necessary  to  the  interests  of  his  oppo- 
sers.  Wealth  and  influence — even  ofhis  own  large 
possessions — were  arrayed  against  one  penny- 
less  and  imprisoned,  but  still  proof  against  tempta- 
tion, and  great  even  in  his  downfall.  His  unhappy 
destiny,  aided  by  high  talent,  and  urged  by  infa- 
mous means,  could  not  be  averted,  though  in  spite 
of  every  art  and  every  intrigue,  it  was  long  de- 
layed. Indictments  were  procured  against  him 
for  forgery,  and  eminent  counsel  engaged  -to  sup- 
port the  prosecution.  He  was  tried  at  Batavia, 
but  the  jury  could  not  agree.  At  Buflalo  he  was 
afterwards  tried  and  acquitted.  And  finally,  he 
was  again  tried  at  Batavia,  convicted,  and  sen- 
tenced to  the  state-prison  for  five  years.  Eighteen 
months  of  this  term  remain  unexpired. 

Mr.  Rathbun  had  been  for  a  long  period  so  in- 
timately and  closely  connected  with  the  growth 


J 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


35 


and  business  of  Buffalo,  that  no  apology  will  be 
deemed  necessary  for  this  brief  outline  sketch  of 
his  failure  and  fate,  nor  for  his  portrait  on  a  pre- 
ceding page  ;  tin  more  particularly,  that  travellers 
are  curious  to  -am  all  they  can  concerning  one 
of  whom  they  have  heard  so  much,  but  know  so 
little,  and  often  ask  many  questions  about  him, 
which  do  not  always  succeed  in  eliciting  truth. 
The  streets  of  the  city  are  lined  with  proofs  of  his 
taste,  genius  and  enterprise,  and  for  years  the 
history  of  the  place  could  have  been  little  else  than 
a  record  of  his  improvements.  His  reputation  as  a 
landlord  extended  over  the  Union  ;  and  the  fame 
of  his  subsequent  greatness  and  fall,  had  a  still 
wider  celebrity.  Whatever  may  be  the  opinions  of 
men  as  to  the  justice  of  his  present  condition,  his 
great  ability  must  be  admitted  by  all,  and  his  errors 
and  misfortunes  be  remembered  with  regret. 

Shortly  before  the  catastrophe  which  put  a 
period  to  his  operations,  Mr.  Rathbun  commenc- 
ed a  noble  structure  on  Main-street  opposite  the 
churches  ;  to  make  room  for  which,  a  whole 
block  of  four-story  brick  stores  had  been  taken 
down.  It  was  to  have  been  called  the  "  Buffalo 
Exchange,"  would  have  covered  the  whole  square, 
measuring  two  hundred  and  forty-five  by  two 
hundred  feet,  and  was  designed  to  rear  its  proud 


HI 

n 

36 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


and  portly  dome  to  a  height  of  no  less  than  two 
hundred  and  twenty-two  feet.  Had  this  building 
(the  massive  foundation  of  which  was  partly  laid) 


gjU  U  IMJU  U  U  y  iJ  U'U  U'  U'l/IJI  <i  <*  UU  U  U  U  U  IfCTf 


BUFFALO     EXCHANGE. 


been  completed,  it  would  have  been  the  pride  of 
Buffalo  and  the  West.  The  site  is  now  an  un- 
covered sepulchre  of  rubbish.  At  the  Falls,  too, 
the  visiter  will  perceive  many  evidences  of  the 
talent  and  energy  of  this  extraordinary  man,  and 
of  the  vastness  of  his  designs,  not  one  of  which 


m 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


37 


was  illusory  or  impracticable  ; — but  the  consum- 
mation of  these  and  other  extensive  plans  of  im- 
provement was  prevented  by  his  arrest,  imprison- 
ment, and  consequent  failure. 

Buffalo  is  admirably  situated  for  a  commercial 
place  of  great  importance  ;  its  growth  has  been 
rapid  beyond  all  precedent,  and  it  is  destined  to 
take  a  high  rank  among  the  great  cities  of  the 
Union.  It  is  principally  built  upon  an  elevated 
sandy  plain  ;  its  streets  are  broad,  straight,  and 
dry,  and  some  of  its  noblest  avenues  radiate  from 
the  central  point  on  which  the  Exchange  was  to 
have  been  erected.  An  air  of  bustle  and  business 
pervades  it,  especially  in  the  summer  season,  by 
which  it  is  likened  to  many  a  city  of  much  older 
date,  and  of  far  greater  pretensions.  The  climate 
is  highly  salubrious,  the  atmosphere  fresh  and  in- 
vigorating, and  it  has  few  if  any  local  sources  of 
disease. 

About  fifty  steamboats — some  of  them  literally 
floating  palaces  —  a  large  number  of  ships,  brigs, 
schooners,  and  sloops,  and  canal  boats  almost  in- 
numerable, arrive  at  and  depart  from  Buffalo,  mak- 
ing regular  trips,  and  generally  freighted  with 
produce,  merchandize  and  passengers  to  the  ut- 
most extent  of  their  capacity  and  accommodations. 
Between  this  city  and  the  village  of  Attica,  a  few 


i.n 


38 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


miles  of  rail-road,  are  all  of  a  continuous  and  un- 
broken line,  reaching  from  Boston  to  Buffalo,  that 
remain  unfinished,  and  in  July  next,  it  is  intended 
to  have  even  that  portion  completed.  The  ocean 
and  the  lakes  will  then  be  connected  by  rail-road 
as  well  as  canal  communication.  Boston  and 
New- York  will  be  rivals  for  the  rich  trade  of  the 
West,  and  Buffalo  will  exact  tribute  from  the  com- 
merce of  both. 

Poinsett  Barracks,  an  extensive  and  commodi- 
ous cantonment  for  troops,  occupy  a  conspicuous 
and  commanding  position  near  the  upper  or  north- 
ern limit  of  the  city.  Several  companies  of  artil- 
lery are  stationed  there,  who  are  paraded  weekly 
for  manouvre  and  review  ;  on  which  occasions,  and 
especially  on  field  days,  citizens  and  strangers  in 
considerable  numbers  attend,  and  seemingly  take 
great  interest  in  these  martial  displays.  Govern- 
ment is  also  about  to  erect  a  strong  fortification  on 
the  high  lands,  at  the  northwest  corner  of  the  city, 
for  the  protection  of  Buffalo  and  Black  Rock,  and 
the  harbours  of  both,  and  also  to  secure  the  com- 
mand of  the  river.  A  site  for  this  fort  has  already 
been  selected,  and  engineers  are  expected  soon  to 
commence  operations. 

Excursions  from  Buffalo  to  the  Seneca  Indian 
village,  and   to  the   ruins  of  old  fort  Erie,   are 


f 


TO    NIAGAR       FA  LLS. 


39 


not  uncommon  with  both,  citizens  and  strangers. 
They  are  the  only  places  of  much  resort  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  the  place.  To  the  former, 
it  is  a  pleasant  ride  of  three  miles  ;  to  the  latter, 
a  delightful  sail  of  about  the  same  distance. 

JBuflalo  is  connected  with  the  Falls,  distant 
twenty- two  miles,  by  a  rail-road,  on  which  the 
cars,  propelled  by  steam,  make  two  trips  a  day ; 


leaving  the  former  plaje  at  nine  in  the  morning, 
and  at  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  With  the 
ferry  at  Black  Rock,  two  miles  distant,  there 
is  also  rail-road  communication,  and  the-  cars 
leave  every  half  hour.  The  depot  for  both  is  on 
the  Terrace,  at  its  junction  with  Pearl-street,  and 
fronting  both  the  Western  Hotel  and  the  United 
States  Hotel. 


!  ! 


.K 


$ 


40 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


Steamboats  leave  the  dock  every  morning  for  the 
Falls,  and  return  the  same  day.  They  land  pas- 
sengers both  at  Chippewa  and  Schlosser,  w^here 
carriages  are  in  waiting  to  take  them  over  the  two 
or  three  remaining  miles.  Travellers  can  there- 
fore choose  between  this  mode  of  conveyance  and 
the  cars.  Both  routes  are  pleasant,  and  it  may  be 
advisable  to  go  by  one  and  return  by  the  other. 
By  adopting  this  plan,  every  part  of  the  beautiful 
river  and  forest  scenery  above  the  falls  will  be 
seen  ;  nor  will  Chippewa,  Navy-Island,  or  Schlos- 
ser— now  memorable  places  —  be  overlooked  ;  or 
a  splendid  view  from  the  river,  of  the  rapids,  and 
islands,  be  lost. 


le 

3- 

e 
o 

i 

e 

1  i 


1 


'I 

1 1 


!     iP 


TO   NIAGARA    FALLS.  41 


CHAPTER    III. 

FORT  ERIE  —  SITUATION  AND  ARCHITECTURE  —  SURRENDER  — 
SIEOE  —  RUINS  —  WATERLOO — BLACK      ROCK — RIVALRY  — 

GENERAL    I'ORTER  —  TONAWANDA VILLAGE  AND  CREEK  — 

CATFISH  AND   AGUES  —  SCHLOSSER    LANDING  —  CHIPPEWA  — 
CREEK  —  BATTLE-GROUND — FORT  SCHLOSSER. 

"In  crumbling  ruins  on  the  lake-laved  shore, 

Its  shattered  walls  and  bastions  ivied  o'er, 

Stands  a  stern  fortress  that  has  oft  withstood 

The  fiery  brunt  of  battle,  blushing  blood. 

Its  curtains,  parapets,  and  ramparts  gray 

War-wasted  and  corroding  by  decay. 

On  frowning  battlement  and  salient  stone, 

Has  time  the  unfinished  work  of  foeman  done  ; 

And  creeping  plants,  and  blooming  wild-Howcrs  wave, 

Where  floated  proudly  once  the  banner  brave." 

PPOSITEto  Buffalo,  at  the  efflux 
of  the  river,  and  on  the  Canada  side, 
stand  the  ruins  of  Fort  Erie.  This 
fortification,  originally  built  by  the 
French  about  a  century  ago,  was  a 
small  but  extremely  well  planned  and  constructed 
post,  and  must  have  been  considered  of  no  little 
importance  by  those  who  were  at  the  trouble  of 
its  erection.  All  its  defences  were  laid  out  and 
arranged  in  the  exactest  style  of  art ;  and  the 
masonry  bears  witness,  even  at  this  distant  date, 
to  the  solidity  with  which  it  was  put  together. 


■!1; 

I  ::.J 


ii;i 


;■     fi  ;ui 


i'  ft  m 


42 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


The  curtains  and  other  avails  were  grouted  with  a 
cement  of  water-lime,  evincing  the  greatest  care 
for  durabiUiy:  'iiid  none  for  expense.  The  bas- 
tions were  all  flanked  with  this  admirable  stone 
work,  and  the  whole  surrounded  by  a  deep  ditch, 
further  strengthened  by  pointed  stakes,  firmly  and 
thickly  planted  in  the  fosse,  inclining  outward, 
and  rising  just  above  the  water,  with  which  it 
was  nearly  filled.  The  fort  was  evidently  design- 
ed by  an  able  engineer,  and  might  have  been 
regarded  as  a  miniature  model  of  military  archi- 
tecture. Every  avenue  of  approach,  was  enfiladed 
or  exposed  to  a  cross  fire,  and  nothing  seems  to 
have  been  omitted  that  could  contribute  to  the 
annoyance  of  a  besieging  foe,  or  the  protection  of 
its  little  garrison.  By  the  Indians,  it  must  have 
been  deemed  impregnable. 

Fort  Erie  was,  during  the  late  war,  the  scene 
of  some  of  the  most  memorable  exploits  of  the 
Republican  army.  It  was  surrendered  on  the 
third  of  July,  at  the  first  summons,  to  General 
Brown  who,  with  a  force  of  five  thousand  men, 
invaded  Canada  in  1814,  by  Major  Buck,  the 
officer  in  command  ;  and  the  British  garrison,  con- 
sisting of  one  hundred  and  thirty-seven  men  of  the 
Eighth,  or  King's  Regiment,  became  prisoners  of 
war.     The  troops  under  General  Brown,  after 


' 


;  ■■ 


i 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


43 


advancing  upon  Fort  George,  and  fighting  the 
celebrated  battles  of  Chippewa  and  Niagara,  fell 
back  upon  this  point,  and  sustained  a  siege, 
remarkable  for  the  gallantry  with  which  it  was 
pressed  and  repelled.  Si!ubsequently,  the  British 
forces  having  retired  to  winter  quarters,  the  fort 
was  abandoned  and  demolished,  the  campaign 
ended,  and  the  American  army  having  gained 
nothing  but  glory  by  the  invasion,  returned  to 
their  own  country. 


RUINS   OF   FORT   ERIE,    U.    C. 

The  fortification  is  now  entirely  in  ruins,  de- 
serted and  desolate  ;  but  its  ancient  defences  may 
still  be  traced  out,  and  the  little  hillocks  that  dot 
the  plain  below,  each  marking  a  soldier's  grave, 
attest  the  obstinacy  with  which  the  attack  was 
urged,  and  the  assault  repulsed. 

Waterloo  is  a  pleasant  little  village  on  the 
bank  of  the  river  a  mile  and  a  half  below  Fort 


"I 


ilk 


I 


'•  I 


B 


'.:  i 


i 


u 


5! 


44 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


Erie,  and  opposite  to  Black  Rock,  with  which  it 
is  connected  by  the  ferry.  It  has  probably  sixty 
or  seventy  houses,  and  four  or  five  hundred  in- 
habitants. From  this  place  to  the  Falls,  the  road 
runs  along  the  bank  of  the  river,  and  the  scenery 
is  extremely  picturesque.  Horses  and  carriages 
may  be  had  for  excursions  to  Fort  Erie  or  the 
Falls,  on  livery,  at  reasonable  rates. 

The  village  of  Bla.ck  Rock  on  the  American 
side  of  the  strait,  and  two  miles  below  Buffalo, 
comprises  some  two  hundred  houses,  and  con- 
tains about  two  thousand  inhabitants.  It  is  com- 
posed of  two  divisions  or  hamlets,  separated  by  the 
distance  of  one  mile.  The  lower  village  is  there- 
fc/c  three  miles  from  Buffalo,  and  is  commonly 
call  **The  Dam,"  from  its  vicinity  to  a  structure 
of  that  kind,  erected  to  raise  the  water  for  the 
benefit  of  the  harbour  and  canal.  The  pier  is  two 
miles  long,  and  commencing  at  Squaw  Island, 
terminates  at  a  small  island  or  reef  called  Bird 
Island,  opposite  Buffalo.  By  means  of  the  pier 
and  dam,  the  water  in  the  harbour  is  raised  seve- 
ral feet  above  the  river,  thus  creating  water-power 
to  an  extent  almost  unlimited.  There  are  a  num- 
ber of  fine  mills  in  constant  operation. 

Black  Rock  was  formerly  the  rival  of  Buffalo, 
and  maintained  for  several  years  a  sort  of  doubtful 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


45 


ascendancy.  In  those  days,  the  harbour  at  Black 
Rock  was  thought  by  many  people  to  be  far  supe- 
rior to  that  of  its  competitor  ;  and  large  appro- 
priations were  obtained  for  it,  almost  before 
any  attempts  were  made  at  improving  the  port  of 
Buffalo.  But  the  curreni  of  the  river,  and  the 
dangers  of  the  channel  from  large  sunken  rocks, 
difficulties  that  could  not  be  entirely  overcome, 
gave  its  rival  a  decided  advantage,  and  prevented 
its  becoming  a  place  of  much  business.      It  is 


however,  destined  to  no  inconsiderable  importance 
as  a  manufacturing  town.  It  was  founded  about 
the  same  time  with  Buffalo,  and  was  burnt  by  the 
enemy  in  1813.  The  principal  ferry  over  the 
river  is  at  the  upper  village,  and  is  connected 
with  Bufffalo  by  rail-road.  The  Niagara  Falls 
Rail-Road  runs  through  both  divisions  of  the 
place. 


'J'  !« 


if. 

4 


'  9' 


,;   '4 


46 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


(^ 


General  Porter  was,  until  quite  recently,  the 
principal  land-holder  at  Black  Rock,  and  for  many 
years  resided  at  the  upper  village,  where  he  had  a 
splendid  mansion,  which  is  now  occupied  by  Lewis 
F.  Allen,  Esq.  a  gentleman  favourably  known  for 
his  agricultural  enterprise  and  writings.  General 
Porter  has  removed  to  the  Falls,  where  he  has 
large  possessions,  and  a  princely  dwelling. 

The  village  of  Toxawanda  is  nine  miles  below 
Black  Rock,  and  lies  on  both  sides  of  the  creek  of 
the  same  name,  at  its  confluence  with  the  strait. 
At  this  place,  the  Erie  Canal,  leaving  the  river, 
enters  the  creek,  which  it  follows  to  Pendleton, 
twelve  miles  distant.  Tonawanda  is  a  pleasant 
thriving  village,  and  contains  about  twelve  hun- 
dred inhabitants.  White-Haven,  mills  and  ham- 
let, occupying  the  site  of  the  proposed  Jewish  city 
of  Arrarat,  founded  by  the  soi  disant  Grand  High 
Priest,  M.  M.  Noah,  then  a  Judge  of  Israel,  but 
now  a  judge  of  the  Court  of  Sessions,  New-York, 
is  on  Grand-Island,  directly  opposite. 

Tonawanda,  the  aboriginal  name  of  the  creek, 
is  an  Indian  word,  signifying  ^^  swift  running 
water.*'  There  was  doubtless  a  touch  of  native 
irony  in  this  appellation,  for  the  creek  is  a  deep 
sluggish  stream.  It  has  been  dammed  over  for  the 
benefit  of  the  canal,  by  which  a  beautiful  cascade 


I 


TO   NIAGARA   FALLS. 


47 


is  formed.  It  is  about  eijghty  yards  in  width,  is 
crossed  by  a  long  wooden  bridge,  on  which  the 
rail-road  passes,  and  is  the  boundary  between  the 
counties  of  Erie  and  Niagara.  The  place  is  some- 
what celebrated  for  its  cat-fish  and  agues,  both 
of  which  are  said  to  be  caught  here  in  great  abun- 
dance. We  are  by  no  means  satisfied  that  this 
dignity  is  quite  deserved  ;  if  true,  however,  it 
enjoys  a  monopoly  of  the  honour  and  profit. 

ScHLossER  Landing  is  nine  miles  below  Tona- 
wanda,  and  two  miles  above  the  Falls.     An  old 


1 


m 


i 


SCHLOSSER     LANDING. 


Store-house,  and  tavern  are  the  only  buildings  at 
this  point.  It  is  the  landing  place  for  steam-boats 
from  Buflfalo,  and  visiters  to  the  Falls  are  convey- 
ed thence  in  carriages.  This  place  is  celebrated 
as  being  the  spot  where  the  Caroline  lay  at  the 


48 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


time  of  her  destruction.  Navy-Island  is  opposite, 
and  Grand-Island,  the  Canada  Shore,  Chippewa, 
the  head  of  the  rapids,  and  Iris-Island  are  all 
within  view.  The  rail-road  runs  along  the  river 
but  few  rods  from  the  shore. 

Chippewa  lies  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  at  the 
mouth  of  Chippewa  Creek,  two  and  a  half  miles 
above  the  Falls.  With  the  single  exception  of 
Waterloo,  it  is  the  only  village  on  the  Canada  side 
above  the  cataract.  It  is  a  flourishing  place — a 
port  of  entry  —  and  has  a  very  tolerable  harbour. 
The  stream  is  spanned  by  a  wooden  draw-bridge 
one  hundred  yards  long,  and  is  navigable  about 
twenty  miles  up,  for  vessels  of  two  or  three  hun- 
dred tons  burthen.  Steam-boats  from  Buffalo 
land  here,  and  the  journey  to  the  Falls  is  continu- 
ed in  carriages,  which  are  in  waiting.  The  popu- 
lation of  the  village  is  estimated  at  two  thousand 
persons.  The  view  of  the  rapids,  and  scenery 
above  the  Falls,  is  very  fine.  The  battle-ground 
is  two  miles  above,  on  the  BufTalo  road. 

Chippewa  is  the  lowest  point  to  which  the  up- 
per portion  of  the  Niagara  strait  is  navigable. 
From  Queenston  to  this  place,  goods  are  carried 
by  land,  and  the  road  has  from  the  old  French 
times,  been  called  the  Portage.  The  two  villages 
are  now  connected   by  a  rail-road,  but  recently 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


40 


completed.  It  was  at  Chippewa  that  the  troops 
and  munitions  of  war  were  collected  to  oppose 
the  Niivy-Island  patriots  ;  and  here  the  expedition 
against  the  Caroline  was  fitted  out  and  despatched, 
which  resulted  in  the  death  of  Durfce,  and  the 
destruction  of  that  vessel. 

The  only  streams  of  any  considerahic  size  that 
flow  into  the  Niagara  river,  are  the  Tonawanda 
and  Chippewa  creeks.  Of  the  former  we  have 
hefore  spoken,  and  to  the  latter,  no  particular  in- 
terest attaches.  It  is  about  twenty  rods  wide  at 
its  mouth,  and  forty  or  fifty  miles  i'l  length.  About 
ten  miles  of  the  Welland  Canal,  which  affords  a 
v/^ater  comniunicalion,  navigable  for  vessels  of  one 
hundred  and  tifty  tons  burthen,  between  the  Lakes 
Erie  and  Ontario,  are  formed  by  this  stream.  No 
small  portion  of  the  rich  western  trade,  finds  its 
way  to  the  North  and  East,  through  this  canal, 
in  the  construction  of  which,  the  people  of  Canada 
have  shown  a  spirit  of  enterprise,  that  is  like  to 
be  well  rewarded,  and  may  eventually  lead  to  other 
important  works  of  internal  improvement. 

Fort  Schlosser,  or  rather  its  remains,  now 
scarcely  to  be  distinguished,  is  a  mile  below  the 
Landing,  on  the  American  side.  It  was  a  mere 
stoccade,  built  in  the  old  French  war,  upon  lines 
slightly  raised  above  the  river  banks.     The  site  of 

D 


1 


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f 


4 


50 


PICTORIAL   GUIDE 


the  fort  is  on  a  gentle  elevation,  between  the  road 
and  the  river,  in  a  cultivated  field,  where  the 
plough  and  the  harrow  have  done  their  work  so 
well,  that  hardly  a  trace  of  this  once  noted  mili- 
tary post  is  now  to  be  discovered. 

Another  mile  and  we  are  at  the  village  of 
Niagara  Falls,  with  a  bounding  pulse,  the  roar  of 
the  cataract  in  our  ears,  and  a  feverish  impatience 
in  our  breasts. 


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TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


51 


CHAPTER     IV. 

VILLAGE  OF  NIAGARA  FALLS  —  EAGLE  HOTEL  —  MR.  HOOKER 
ANT)  SONS  —  CATARACT  HOTEL  —  GEN.  WHITNEY — NIAGARA 
FALLS  HOTEL  —  RATHBUN'S  ENTERPRISE  —  CITY  OF  THE 
FALLS  —  CLIFTON  —  CLIFTON  HOfSE  —  COT,.  CHRYSLER  —  PA- 
VILION HOTEL  —  CAMERA  OBSCURA — MUSEUM  —  ETC. 

*'  Higli-seated  on  the  crests  of  cliffs  sublime, 

Like  eaglets  on  the  mountain  tops  of  time, 

In  unawakened  energy  repose 

Cities  in  embryo — between  wliich  flows, 

Down  the  dread  cataract,  and  through  the  chasm, 

With  ever-angry  rush  and  many  a  spasm, 

A  mighty  torrent  — ocean-like  in  size. 

Whose  mists  and  thunders  mingle  with  the  skies, 

ij.  intied  by  frowning  walls  that  shake  with  dread 

J^-        !   vibration  of  its  earthquake  tread!" 

H  E  village  of  Niagara  Falls,  lies 
just  above,  and  adjacent  to,  the  Cat- 
aract, on  the  American  side.  It 
was  laid  out  in  1805  by  Judge  Por- 
ter, who  is  principal  proprietor  of 
the  place,  and  of  the  Islands  at  and  near  the  preci- 
pice. He  has  a  fine  mansion  house  in  which  he 
has  resided  for  many  years.  His  brother,  General 
Porter,  has  also  a  large  estate  at  the  Falls,  and  a 
splendid  house,  in  which  he  lives.  Grand  Niag- 
ara, was  the  name  originally  given  to  the  place, 
which  was  subsequently  changed  to  Manchester  ; 


11 


I 


11 


j.  "lii 
ill 


'M 


■I'JJ.LLJ,  ,  J  -'J"  '-.uu.... I'- 


52 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


li.i 


but  some  inconvenience  having  attended  this  ap- 
pellation, it  has  long  been  disused,  and  that  of 
Niagara  Falls  substituted.  The  village  contains 
two  churches,  two  large  hotels,  several  other  pub- 
lic houses,  two  schools,  eighty-five  dwellings,  and 
about  six  hundred  inhabitants.  Sharing  the  fate 
of  other  places  on  the  frontier,  it  was  burnt  by  the 
British  in  1813. 


EAOLE    HOTEL. 


The  Eagle  Hotel,  a  few  steps  from  the  Buf- 
falo and  Niagara  Falls  rail-road,  is  a  fine  large 
building,  fronting  on  Main-street,  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  feet,  and  seventy  feet  deep.  It 
was  formerly  of  wood,  but  its  dimensions  having 
been  found  much  too  small,  the  brick  part  v/as 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


53 


added  by  Mr.  Rathbuil,  in  1835.     This  portion  is 
substantially  built,  and  is  four  stories  high.     The 
wooden  part  was  well  and  tastefully  constructed, 
and  has  magnificent  colonnades  on  the  front  and 
south  sides.      The  rooms  are  numerous,   large, 
well  ventilated,  and  convenient ;  and  are  admirably 
arranged,  and  elegantly  furnished.     The  proprie- 
tor, Mr.  C.  B.  Griffin,  is  a  gentleman  well  known 
to  the  travelling  public,  as  a  most  worthy,  efficient, 
and  obliging  landlord.     Visiters  will  find  his  table, 
wines,  liquors,  and  attendance  all  that  can  be  de- 
sired,  and  his    charges  reasonable.       Connected 
with  this  hotel,  which  has  ample  accommodations 
for  one  hundred  persons,  there  is  a  beautiful  gar- 
den, well  laid  out  with  gravelled  walks,  and  con- 
taining a  great  variety  of  shrubs,  plants,  flowers, 
and  fruit-trees  —  a  most    agreeable   and  pleasant 
place  of  resort,  which  should  not   be  neglected. 
Of   cherries,    there    are,    in   their   season,    great 
abundance,  which  are  particularly  recommended. 
There  is  in  the  same  building,  a  small  shop  for 
the  sale  of  canes,  confections,  Indian  curiosities, 
and  mineral  specimens ;  and  a  fine  billiard  room 
just  below. 

Mr.  S.  Hooker,  guide  to  the  Falls,  has  his 
office  and  residence  next,  south  of  the  Eagle 
Hotel ;  and  to  all,  who  may  desire  such  attendance, 


U-.  it 


r.   !l 


« 


54 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


offers  his  valuable  services.  Mr.  H.  and  his  two 
sons,  are  the  only  guides  to  the  Falls  who  have 
made  this  their  regular  profession,  and  they  de- 
serve notice  and  patronage.      He  is,  in  spite  of 


MR.   S.   HOOKER. 


his  name,  an  upright,  intelligent,  and  worthy  man, 
who  has  resided  at  the  Falls  for  twenty-six  years, 
and  has  a  perfect  acquaintance  with  every  point  of 
interest,  and  every    event  worth   relating.     His 


I  ■ 


^^0 

ve 
e- 
of 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


55 


sons,  born  and  bred  in  the  very  roar  and  spray  of 
the  cataract,  and  familiar  with  that  and  the  sur- 
rounding scenery  from  childhood,  are  in  every  re- 
spect quite  competent  to  the  creditable  discharge 
of  their  duties  to  strangers  who  may  engage 
their  assistance. 


CATARACT     HOTEL. 

The  Cataract  Hotel  is  a  few  yards  further 
south,  and  near  the  Lockport  and  Lewistfin  rail- 
road depot.  It  fronts  on  Main-street  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  feet,  and  is  ninety  feet  in  depth.  It 
is  three  and  four  stories  high,  and  the  southern 
part  has  colonnades  or  piazzas  on  front  and  rear. 
The  internal  arrangements  of  this  hotel,  combine 
every  advantage  of  quiet,  comfort,  and  conve- 
nience ;    and  the  rooms,  among  which  are  two 


:  .-H 


i  I 

J. 


'   .3 


56 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


extensive  dining  halls,  are  tastefully  and  even  rich- 
ly furnished.  It  stands  but  few  feet  from  the  bank 
of  the  river,  and  the  rapids  roll  and  foam  along 
almost  beneath  its  balconies.  Bathing  apartments 
are  connected  with  it ;  and  recently  improved  by 
large  additions,  it  has  now  accommodations  for 
nearly  two  hundred  permanent  guests.  Viands 
that  delight  both  the  eye  and  palate,  liquors  and 
wines,  pure  in  quality  and  mellowed  by  age,  and 
servants  ready  without  impertinence,  and  prompt 
without  bribery,  are  advantages  that  render  it  a 
most  agreeable  place  of  entertainment. 

This  Hotel  is  kept  by  General  Whitney  and 
sons,  who  are  too  well  and  favourably  known  to 
need  any  recommendation.  General  Whitney 
was  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  at  the  Falls,  and 
has  given  so  many  proofs  of  his  enterprise  and 
public  spirit,  that  his  name  belongs  to  the  history 
of  the  place.  He  established  the  ferry,  and  built 
the  first  stair-case  down  the  bank.  The  first 
bridge  to  Iris  Island,  and  the  Terrapin  bridge 
were  also  constructed  by  him ;  and  many  other 
conveniences  about  the  falls,  owe  to  him  their 
origin  or  suggestion.  He  has  kept  a  public  house 
there  for  many  years,  and  princes;  dukes,  mar- 
quises, counts,  and  lords,  have  been  his  patrons, 
in  addition  to  gentry  of  every  other  degree  in  life. 


)i 


TO   NIAGARA    FALLS. 


57 


But  he  is  still  a  staunch  republican,  and  a  true 
patriot ;  frank,  hearty,  and  familiar  in  his  man- 
ners, plain  in  appearance,  and  upright  in  all  his 
transactions. 

Opposite  to  the  Cataract  Hotel,  are  the  rooms  of 
Mr.  Hulett,  who  deserves  especial  mention.  A 
circulating  library,  reading  room,  a  splendid  and 
valuable  collection  oi  indigenous  and  foreign  min- 
erals, curiosities  of  various  kinds,  and  ices,  con- 
fections, and  other  refreshments,  bear  ample  wit- 
ness to  the  justice  of  his  claim  upon  the  patronage 
of  the  public.  The  Exchange  Hotel,  a  commodi- 
ous and  pleasant,  though  not  large  house  of  enter- 
tainment, is  next  adjoining;  and  the  PostOlKce  is 
but  a  short  distance  below,  on  the  same  side  of 
the  street. 

Adjacent  to  the  Eagle  Hotel,  on  the  north  side, 
is  the  first,  or  basement  story  of  a  building,  which 
the  traveller  will  hardly  need  be  informed,  was 
projected  and  commenced  by  the  celebrated  Benja- 
min Rathbun.  Its  vast  size,  solidity  of  structure, 
and  excellence  of  location,  at  once  show  its  pater- 
nity. His  cool  judgment  perceived  at  a  glance, 
the  pecuniary  advantage  that  must  result  from  the 
possession  of  a  hotel  sufficiently  large  and  mag- 
nificent to  attract  and  accommodate  all  the  prin- 
cipal  visiters  to   the   Falls,    of  whom   so  many 


M: 


58 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


thousands  annually  arrive  ;  and  he  at  once  set 
about  its  construction.  Perhaps,  also,  he  wished 
to  erect  a  hotel  worthy  of  the  place  ;  for  in  every 
person  of  real  genius,  there  is  a  tinge  of  romantic 
enthusiasm.  The  spot  selected  for  it  was  the 
very  best  that  could  be  chosen.  The  cars  from 
Buffalo  would  stop  at  one  front,  and  those  from 
Lockport  and  Lewiston  at  the  other  ;  and  it  was 
but  a  few  rods  from  the  cataract  itself.  It  was  to 
have  been  called  the  Niagara  Falls  Hotel  —  was  to 


NIAGARA  FALLS   HOTEL. 

front  one  hundred  and  seventy  feet  on  Main-street, 
one  hundred  and  ninety  feet  on  Fall-street,  to  be, 
to  the  top  of  the  dome,  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  feet  high,  and  was  to  have  ample  accommoda- 
tions for  above  six  hundred  persons.      Had  this 


let 
ed 

ry 

ic 
^e 
m 
m 

EIS 

to 
to 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


59 


hotel  been  finished,  it  could  not  fail  to  have  been 
one  of  the  best  and  most  profitable  pieces  of  pro- 
perty in  the  Union  ;  but  it  was  destined  that  his 
career  of  improvement  should  stop  in  its  midland 
course,  and  most  unfortunately  for  the  village  of 
Niagara  Falls,  it  did  so. 

The  prescient  genius  and  active  enterprise  of 
Rathbun,  stimulated  and  inspired  by  the  grandeur 
of  those  incomparable  cascades,  and  the  glorious 
scenery  around,  would  have  reared  a  city  there  in 
a  few  years  time,  that  would  rival  the  creeping 
aggregations  of  a  century,  and  that  too,  by  merely 
developing  the  wonderful  resources  of  the  place. 
It  would  have  been  no  hot-bed  growth,  but  a  nat- 
ural and  vigorous  shooting  up  from  a  rich  and 
unhacknied  soil.  Look  at  the  stone-faced  aque- 
duct or  race,  canal-like  in  size  and  capacity,  which 
he  built,  and  was  preparing  to  line  with  mills  and 
manufactories.  There  is  no  end  to  the  water- 
power  that  might  be  brought  into  use  here,  or  he 
would  soon  have  found  it.  Could  the  steam-mills 
and  factories  of  other  places  compete  with  those 
driven  by  this  all-powerful,  obedient,  and  ready- 
formed  agent  of  nature,  which  requires  no  care, 
and  is  subject  to  no  expense  ?  But  Rathbun, 
the  soul  of  laudable  enterprise,  is,  for  faults  not  his 
own,  (as  many  believe,)  now  in  the  penitentiary, 


If 


'j^ 


:i 


'im 


■     kl 


i 


60 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


and  Niagara  Falld  must  bide  her  time.  There 
was  a  country  once,  where,  if  a  man  exhibited 
more  talent,  or  possessed  more  weahh  than  his 
nciglibours,  they  took  ofi'  his  head  for  the  sake  of 
equality  ;  but  now,  and  here  every  one  can  tolerate 
a  superior. 

The  village  of  Niagara  Falls  has  also  two  saw- 
mills, a  grist-mill,  a  paper-mill,  a  woolen-factory, 
two  machine  shops,  a  rail-road-car  manufactory, 
and  shops  for  almost  every  variety  of  the  mechanic 
arts.  These  are  all  excellent  in  their  kind,  and 
the  paper-mill  particularly  so,  as  the  material  upon 
which  this  book  is  printed,  abundantly  demon- 
strates. There  is  also  a  Bowling  Alley,  where 
visiters  can  mingle  exercise  with  amusement  ;  and 
a  Public  Garden  laid  out  in  good  taste,  containing 
a  variety  of  flowers  and  shrubbery,  and  a  place  for 
the  exhibition  of  fire-works,  which  are  frequently 
displayed  on  proper  and  public  occasions.  The 
streets  are  broad  and  regular,  but  unpaved,  and 
therefore  damp  and  disagreeable  after  heavy  rains  j 
but  as  the  soil  is  of  a  sandy  kind,  a  short  in- 
terval generally  suffices  to  render  them  dry  and 
pleasant. 

No  place  on  the  broad  platform  of  God's  foot- 
stool can  be  more  healthy  and  inviting  than  this, 
and  it  is  a  most  desirable  location  for  a  permanent 


1  ! 


h, 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


61 


or  summer  residence.  Fine  groves  of  tiie  native 
forest  trees  nre  scatlcred  about  ;  and  the  Islands, 
on  wliich  not  a  slick  is  allowed  to  be  cut,  aflbrd 
the  most  deli<j:hlful  retreats  that  can  be  imagined 
or  wished.  Nature  seems  to  have  bestowed  every 
advantage  and  every  attraction  upon  the  vicinity 
of  her  master- work,  as  if  to  allure  ma  kiml  to  a 
contemplation  of  her  beauty  and  i)owcr. 

On  the  Canada  side  are  the  City  of  the  I'alls, 
and  village  of  Clifton.  The  Pavilion  Hotel,  a 
new  and  elegant  edifice,  erected  on  the  site  of  the 
hotel  of  the  same  name,  which  was  burnt  down 
two  years  since,  is  in  the  former  ;  and  the  Clihon 
House  in  the  latter.  The  road  leading  up  from 
the  river  at  the  ferry,  divides  the  two  ijlaccs. 

The  Clifton  House,  a  large,  elegant,  commo- 
dious, well-linished,  and  well-furnished  hotel, 
stands  on  the  brow  of  the  bank,  near  the  ferry, 
and  commands  a  splendid  view  of  the  Falls,  in 
which  all  their  majesty  and  glory  arc  revealed. 
It  is  a  noble  structure,  with  triple  r^lonnades  of 
ample  length  and  area,  and  an  interior  hat  leaves 
nothing  to  be  regretted.  Mr.  Chrysler,  a  **fine 
old  English  gentleman,"  and  a  vet  ran  host,  is  pro- 
prietor and  landlord  of  this  saf  erb  estabUshment, 
which  is  conducted,  under  his  personal  superin- 
tendance,  in  a  manner  that  speaks  for  itself,  and 


I 


^.■■^     n 


r — - 


62 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


needs  no  euloo^y.     Are  you  fond  of  hunting  ?  — he 
keeps  a  pack  of  hounds  and  has  a  passion  for  the 


CLIFTON     HOUSE. 


chase.  You  could  not  wish  for  a  better  sports- 
man or  a  more  jovial  companion,  and  cannot  fail  to 
like  him  in  either  capacity,  — as  host  or  hunter. 

The  Pavilion  Hotel  occupies  a  very  elevated 
and  conspicuous  position  on  the  upper  bank,  over- 
looking Table-rock,  and  the  Horse-shoe  fall.  It  is 
an  extensive  and  well-planned  building,  and  is 
kept  by  JMr.  Moxley,  whose  name  is  a  sufficient 
guaranty  that  his  patrons  will  have  no  cause  to 
complain  of  their  choice  of  quarters. 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


63 


The  Camera  Obscura,  midway  between  the 
Clifton  House  and  Table-rock,  should  be  remem- 
bered ;  — it  is  well  worth  a  visit :  — most  interest- 
ing and  Ufe-like  miniature  views  of  the  Falls  are 
shown  by  that  optical  instrument. 

The  Museum  of  Mr.  Barnett,  is  a  short  distance 
above.  This  gentleman  has  prepared  and  collected 
a  very  great  variety  of  valuable  and  rare  speci- 
mens in  natural  history,  and  has,  after  devoting 
years  to  this  object,  succeeded  in  bringing  his 
museum  to  a  high  degree  of  perfection.  It  is 
admirably  arranged,  contains  almost  innumerable 
unique  and  curious  articles,  both  native  and  for- 
eign, and  would  do  credit  to  any  place. 

A  large  white  building,  with  colonnades  in  front, 
about  one  fourth  of  a  mile  above  the  Falls,  formerly 
kept  as  a  hotel,  when  it  was  called  the  Ontario 
House,  is  now  occupied  as  barracks  by  the  Sixty- 
Seventh  Regiment  of  Infantry,  which  is  stationed 
here,  under  the  immediate  command  of  Major 
Brooke.  The  troops  are  paraded  for  review  once 
a  week,  on  which  occasions  the  showy  uniform 
and  high  military  discipline  of  this  veteran  corps, 
maneuvering  to  the  excellent  music  of  its  fme 
regimental  band,  present  a  scene  of  combined 
attractions  that  few  care  to  neglect.  The  band  is 
often  allowed,    and    especially  on  clear    moonlit 


■!»■ 


\  B> 


i 


t 


I 


% 


64 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


evenings,  to  assemble  on  the  bank  of  the  river 
near  the  cataract,  and  blend  the  inspiring  tones 
of  their  martial  harmonies  with  the  grand  diapason 
of  Niagara's  thunder-breathed  hymn.  The  effect 
is  indescribable,  and  visiters  gather  round  and 
listen  with  an  interest  seldom  if  ever  so  deeply 
awakened  in  their  bosoms,  — but  when  before  did 
they  hear  a  human  accompaniment  to  the  sublime 
anthems  of  Nature  ! 

The  City  of  the  Falls,  and  Clifton  are  both  as 
yet  small  places,  and  have  probably  an  aggregate 
population  of  three  hundred  souls.  Our  remarks 
upon  the  salubrity  of  Niagara  Falls  village,  and  its 
desirability  for  permanent  and  summer  residences, 
apply,  with  equal  force  to  these  places.  In  fact 
the  whole  vicinity  of  the  cataract  on  both  sides  of 
the  river  is  pleasant  and  healthful  in  the  highest 
degree,  and  must  in  a  few  years  attract  men  of 
wealth  and  standing  to  become  its  constant  or 
occasional  inhabitants. 


^1 


J 


TO  NIAGARA  FALLS. 


65 


CH  A  PTER  V. 

MOrNTAIN      PLAIN —  LEWISTON  —  QUEENSTON  —  YOUNOSTOWN 

.MA(J.VRA    Vn,I,A(JE  —  FORT    (SEURGK — FORT    MASSASAlOA I 

FORT  MAOARV — TRADITIONS  —  INDIAN  INCIRSIONS  —  SCR-  | 
I'RISAI,  —  ABDICTION  AND  MURDER  OF  MORGAN  —  REPAIRS —  I 
ADDITIONS  AND  ARMAMENT. 

"  Here  ends  the  plain  —  opposing  heights  look  down 
On  river,  valley,  forest,  lake  and  town:  — 
Bright  river  glancing  on  in  silver  sheen, 
Through  valley  mantled  o'er  with  emerald  green  ; 
Forest,  in  whose  emhowered  and  sylvan  shade, 
The  Indian  hunter  wooed  the  dark-haired  maid, 
Near  the  fair  lake  on  which  his  light  canoe, 
O'er  foam-crow'..ed  waves  in  arrowy  swiftness  flew, 
Ere  from  afar  the  invading  pale-face  came. 
And  hardly  left  the  red-man  grave  or  name." 

BOUT  seven  miles  below  the  falls, 
the  elevated  plain,  through  which  the 
cataract  has  been  for  scores  of  ages 
cutting  and  tearing  its  hard-won 
way,  and  having  as  yet  accomplished 
but  one  fourth  of  its  appointed  task,  suddenly  ter- 
minates, and  looks  down  from  a  height  of  nearly 
four  hundred  feet  upon  the  villages  below,  the 
winding  stream,  the  smiling  vale,  the  rival  forts, 
the  dark  forests,  and  the  lovely  lake.  Then,  leav- 
ing the  river,  it  stretches  away  to  the  right  to 
Lockport,  where,  through  a  deep  artiticial  chasm, 

E 


i!  ' 


ji 


J- 

Hi 


PH     I 


66 


PICTORIAL    GUiDK 


and  a  magnificent  pile  of  masonry,  forming  a  double 
range  of  locks,  the  Erie  Canal  descends  the  moun- 
tain ridge  by  slow  and  measured,  though  Titanic 
steps  ;  and  onward  still  to  the  Genesee  river,  whose 
shrunken  waters,  as  if  afraid  to  take  the  fearful 
leap  at  which  Niagara  thrills  and  maddens,  plunge 
down  successive  ledges  and  hide  in  the  lake  below  ; 
and  thence  still  on  and  on  till  the  rock-piled  plain  is 
lost  in  the  sublime  ranges  of  the  Alleghany  moun- 
tains. The  same  great  plain  or  ridge  passing  off 
to  the  left,  loses  itself  at  last  in  the  distant  hills 
and  valleys  of  the  west. 

Under  the  quiet  shelter  of  these  great  heights  — 
the  mountains  of  Father  Hennepin  —  and  on  oppo- 
site sides  01  the  river,  which  seems  now  to  smile 
and  gladden  at  its  escape  from  the  dark  rock- 
bound  channel,  through  which  it  writhed  and 
struggled  like  a  wounded  snake,  repose  the  peace- 
ful villages  of  Lewiston  and  Queenston,  shaking 
hands  across  the  deep  water  like  twin  brothers, 
by  the  ferry  that  connects  them.  These  are  the 
landing  places  of  the  Ontario  and'  St.  Lawrence 
steamers  ;  and  this  the  highest  point  of  river  navi- 
gation below  the  cataract  of  Niagara.  Both  villa- 
gee  are  connected  with  the  Falls  by  raii-road. 

Lewiston  presents  the  pleasing  and  lovely  ap- 
pearance which  characterises  so  many  American 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


67 


le 


n 


villages,  and  is  the  subject  of  such  common  re- 
mark by  native  and  foreign  tourist.  An  air  of 
subdued  softness  and  religious-like  repose  seems 
to  hover  upon  and  hallow  them  all.  The  village 
was  named  in  honour  of  Governor  Lewis,  in 
1805,  and  was  destroyed  by  the  British  forces  in 


LEW  IS  TON    LANDING. 

1813.  At  the  close  of  the  war  it  was  rebuilt,  and 
has  since  gradually  increased  to  its  present  size  ; 
but  its  growth  has  been  extreniely  languid,  and  it 
numbers  only  about  eighty  dwellings,  and  six  or 
seven  hundred  inhabitants.  It  is  however  a  pretty 
and  flourishing  place,  and  has  a  fine  academy,  one 
or  two  churches,  and  a  very  excellent  hotel,  called 


68 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


the  Frontier  House.  The  site  of  Fort  Green, 
and  the  Five-mile  Meadows,  interesting  from  their 
connection  with  reminiscences  of  border  strife, 
are  both  near  the  village,  and  within  the  town- 
ship of  Lewiston. 

QuEENsTON,  opposite,  is  a  small  quaint-looking 
and  irregular  village.  It  contains  forty  or  fifty 
dwellings,  two  taverns,  and  about  four  hundred 
inhabitants.  The  mountain  ridge  portage  com- 
menced here,  and  terminated  at  Chippewa.  The 
two  places  are  now  connected,  as  before  observed, 
by  a  rail-road,  via  the  Falls. 

Thirteen  miles  from  the  Falls,  and  six  from 
Lewiston,  on  the  American  shore,  stands  the  vil- 
lage of  Youngstown,  a  pleasantly  situated,  quiet 
little  place,  remarkable  for  nothing  but  its  vicinity 
to  the  forts  George  and  Niagara  ;  and  for  having 
been  the  tirst  village  burnt  by  the  enemy,  in  re- 
taliation for  the  destruction  of  Newark.  It  has 
about  forty  houses,  and  perhaps  three  hundred 
inhabitants. 

On  the  opposite  bank  of  the  stream,  the  town 
of  Niagara,  —  formerly  Newark,  and  erst  Ontario 
—  and  Fort  George  are  situate.  Niagara  is  the 
oldest,  and,  if  we  except  Bufialo,  the  largest  place 
on  the  river.  It  contains  many  fme  dwellings, 
and   has  a   population   of  about   three   thousand 


ii 


TO    N  I  A  G  A  R  A    FALLS. 


69 


person.^.  Sliip  building  is  carried  on  here  to  some 
extent,  and  iliere  is  a  chartered  Dry  Dock  Com- 
pany, with  banking  privileges,  whose  works  are 
both  important  and  valuable.  Formerly,  a  good 
deal  of  the  commerce  of  the  interior,  centred  in 
this  place,  j)ut  the  principal  trade  has  since  been 
diverted  to  Hamilton  and  other  more  enterprising, 
or  better  situated  villages.  Newark,  as  it  was 
then  called,  was  burnt  by  the  retreating  American 
forces  under  General  McClurc,  in  181  li,  and  was 
revenged  immediately  after,  by  the  destruction  of 
every  settlement  on  the  United  States'  Niagara 
frontier.  Fort  George,  an  earth-built  fortress, 
lies  just  above  the  village.  It  was  considered  of 
consequence  as  a  military  post  during  the  war, 
and  following  the  fluctuations  of  the  contest,  was 
alternately  in  the  possession  of  both  belligerant 
armies.  It  is  now  deserted  and  dismantled,  and 
is  fast  crumbling  to  ruins. 

Fort  Mvssasauga  stands  on  the  extreme  point 
of  the  peninsula,  at  the  junction  of  the  river  Niag- 
ara with  Lake  Ontario  ;  and  is  on  and  a  half 
miles  below  Fort  George,  on  the  same  side  of  the 
Strait.  It  is  constructed  of  earth,  with  a  large 
stone  block  house  of  a  septagonal  form,  in  the 
centre,  which  at  present  mounts  a  single  cannon 
of  twenty-four  lbs.  calibre.     This  fort  is  manned 


\      'l! 


i 


70 


PICTORIAL   GUIDE 


and  garrisoned,  is  kept  in  good  repair,  and  is  said 
to  be  a  very  strong  post. 


FORT     MASSASAUOA. 


Fort  Niagara  on  the  American  shore,  occupies 
a  similar  position,  and  its  defences  are  washed  by 
the  river  on  one  side,  and  by  the  lake  on  the 
other.  The  French,  English,  and  American  flags 
have  successively  floated  over  its  ramparts,  and  it 
has  probably  experienced  a  greater  variety  of  for- 
tunes, and  been  a  silent  witness  of  more  striking 
and  diversified  events,  than  any  other  place  in 
North  America,  unless  perhaps,  Quebec.  It  was 
originally  settled  in  1678  by  a  French  officer, 
M.  de  La  Salle,  who  obtained  permission  of  the 
Indians  to  build  a  store-house,  seduced  them  to 
join  in  a  hunt,  and  in  their  absence,  erected  a  for- 
tress.    On  their  return,  they  were  enraged  at  the 


f 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


71 


deception,  but  he  found  means  to  soften  their 
anger  while  he  strengthened  his  position,  and 
ultimately  to  pacify  their  resentment.  From  this 
point  the  savages  were  thence  accustomed  to  sally 


FORT     NIAGARA. 


forth  upon  the  English  settlements,  and  hither 
they  returned  after  completing  the  work  of 
slaughter  and  spoliation,  to  receive  the  wages  of 
murder  and  robbery. 

In  1725  the  most  ancient  of  the  present  build- 
ings were  erected,  and  massive  piles  of  masonry 
attest  the  importance  which  the  French  attached 
to  the  place.  There  are  many  traditions  concern- 
ing the  early  history  of  the  fort,  some  of  which 
point  to  crimes  of  the  blackest  character,  and  acts 
of  the  most  brutal  ferocity.      If  true,  they  should 


iill 


I  ''I 


72 


PICTORIAL   GUIDE 


be  eufl'ercd  to  sloop  in  oblivion  —  if  false,  it  were 
idle  to  repeat  tliem.  At  tliis  distance  of  time,  the 
true  could  not  be  distinguished  from  the  false,  nor 
the  false  be  divested  of  probability.  It  was  an  age 
of  excesses  and  venality,  of  oppression  and  endur- 
ance. The  despotism  in  which  these  revolting 
outrages  were  born, — if  indeed  they  had  being, 
has  passed  away  ;  let  the  memory  of  the  errors  and 
offences  it  produced,  share  its  tomb. 

Sir  William  Johnson  obtained  possession  of  the 
fort  in  175!),  it  is  said,  by  fraud  ;  but  the  treachery 
has  never  been  proved.  In  that  year,  the  maga- 
zine was  built,  and  other  defences  erected.  Dur- 
ing the  revolutionary  war,  it  became  again  the 
scene  of  savage  preparation  and  of  savage  joy. 
Here  the  murdering  bands  of  Brandt,  Butler,  and 
Johnson,  equipped  and  painted  themselves  for  the 
work  of  butchery  and  blood,  and  set  out  on  their 
inhuman  expeditions  against  the  American  settle- 
ments. The  massacres  of  Cherry- Valley  and 
Wyoming  tell  the  story  of  their  success  and  bar- 
barity ;  the  archives  of  England  could  perhaps 
relate  their  reward.  Fort  Niagara  was  the  witness 
of  their  pow-wows  and  scalp-danc?s  ;  probably  of 
their  tortures  and  sacrifices.  Here  they  were  incit- 
ed to  make  incursions  against  the  defenceless,  to 
kill,  burn,  and  destroy ;  and  here  they  found  shelter 


,1 


TO   NIAGARA    FALLS. 


73 


and  protection  from  the  anger  of  the  iu(lii2:i]nnt, 
and  tlie  vengeance  of  the  injured.  When  tlierc 
were  none  to  oppose,  they  set  ofl'  to  assassinate  ; 
and  when  they  were  pressed  by  tlie  foe,  they 
sneaked  hack  to  bo  defended.  MaHgnant,  but  not 
manly  —  vindictive,  but  not  open  —  cruel,  hut  not 
bold,  their  alliance  added  nothing  to  the  glory  of 
British  arms,  while  their  acknowledged  enii)loy- 
ment  fastened  an  eternal  stigma  upon  the  British 
name.  But  in  spite  of  all  the  arts,  arms,  and 
alliances  of  England,  America  achieved  her  inde- 
pendence, and  in  171)G  fort  Niagara  was  given  up 
to  the  United  States,  never  again  to  be  the  scene 
of  such  unhallowed  festivities,  and  demoniac  tri- 
umphs, as  disgraced  it  under  the  lily  and  lion  ban- 
ners of  its  former  occupants.  During  the  late 
war  it  was  surprised  by  the  British,  through  the 
treachery,  as  supposed,  of  the  American  comman- 
der, Capt.  Leonard,  and  a  part  of  the  garrison  put 
to  the  sword.  It  remained  in  their  possession 
until  the  peace  of  1815,  when  it  was  again  sur- 
rendered to  the  United  States. 

It  has  since  been  the  scene  of  an  outrage,  as 
strange  as  it  was  base  ;  and  as  impolitic  as  it  was 
atrocious.  An  American  citizen,  by  the  name  of 
William  Morgan,  for  disclosing  the  secrets  of  the 
Society  of  Free  Masons,  was  seized  upon  a  false 


f:  i" 


74 


PICTORIAL   GUIDE 


pretext,  hurried  into  a  carriage,  bound,  blind- 
folded, and  gagged,  and  conveyed  post  to  Fort 
Niagara,  in  the  magazine  of  which  he  was  im- 
mured for  several  days,  and  then  murdered  !  The 
manner  of  hia  death  remains  a  mystery  ;  but  the 
general  belief  is,  that  he  was  taken  out  in  the 
night,  and  thrown,  loaded  with  weights,  into  the 
river.  The  perpetrators  of  this  detestable  crime 
were  never  discovered,  though  every  exertion  was 
made  to  bring  them  to  justice.  The  outrage  de- 
feated its  object,  and  thus  in  some  measure 
avenged  itself. 

Recent  events  on  the  frontier,  and  the  critical 
state  of  our  foreign  relations,  have  called  the 
attention  of  Government  to  the  importance  of  Fort 
Niagara  as  a  military  post,  and  large  appropria- 
tions have  been  expended  under  the  direction  of 
able  engineers,  in  strengthening  its  defences,  and 
adding  to  their  number.  These  are  now  nearly 
completed  ;  its  garrison  and  part  of  its  armament 
have  already  arrived,  and  in  the  event  of  another 
war,  it  will  be  found  no  easy  matter  to  reduce  it 
either  by  siege  or  assault.  But  we  trust  long 
years  may  elapse,  before  a  resort  to  arms  shall 
again  become  necessary. 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


76 


CHAPTER    VI. 

MAOARA      STRAIT — nUKA  III  11  —  I>l-;i'I  H  —  RAI'IIW  —  Ot'NKRAL 

aitkauanck  —  navuja'hon  —  siKAMntiA-rs  —  riu/rnN  —  is- 
lands—  GKANI)  ISI.AM) —  nosTON  riMIlKK-COMl'ANY —  VU-- 
I.AflK —  Mirj.H —  \  KSSKt.S  DKSTROYKI) —  ni.CH-IIOR  N  INLAND 
NAVY  ISLAND — MU.I'IaRY  <»(('|;|'AT1()N. 

•*  Tlief>;iils  of  commerce  whiten  o'er  the  seas, 

And  wiiip  their  w.iy  whcMi  favoured  hy  the  breeze  •,   • 

But  when  opposing  tides  and  tempests  rise, 

The  yieldinp  barque  the  unequal  contest  (lies, 

And  fiitc-wurd  driven  is  wrecked  upon  tlie  shore, 

Or  forced  to  shun  the  track  she  sought  before. 

Not  so  with  thy  creations,  liord  of  steam! 

They  breast  the  ruling  storm,  ascend  the  stream  — 

Contending  currents  and  advancing  gales, 

But  show  thy  triumph  over  seas  and  sails," 

A  VI NG  briefly  noticed  the  princi- 
pal places  on  the  Niagara  frontier,  a 
short  account  of  the  river  itself,  its 
islands,  currents,  etc.  is  further  ne- 
cessary to  our  purpose  of  giving  the 
reader  the  information  he  must  necessarily  desire 
to  obtain,  of  every  tiling  immediately  connected 
with  the  Falls.  Every  portion  of  this  strait,  from 
its  intimate  relation  to  the  wonderful  cataract, 
which  yearly  attracts  such  vast  numbers  of  people 
from  even  the  remote  parts  of  the  earth,  and 
which  is  in  itself  so  immeasurably  superior  in  its 


i  ji 


76 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


sublimity   and    <i;randeur    to   every  natural   work 


o 


f  tl 


il 


of  which  we  liave  any 


It*  material  universe, 

possess  a  degree   of  interest  to 


knowledire,  must 


the  traveller  which  we  have  no   right,  if  even  we 
had  tlie  inclination,  to  overlook. 

The  Niagara  river  or  strait,  is  about  two  miles 


'^id( 


ii\h 


wide  at  Its  ettiux,  opposite  BufTalo.  At  Black 
Rock,  it  is  nearly  a  mile  in  breadth,  and  is  here 
deep  and  rapid,  having  a  current  of  six  or  eight 
miles  aa  hour.  Below  this  point,  its  breadth  is 
variable,  and  it  expands  and  contracts  several 
times  before  reaching  Grand  island,  at  the  head 
of  which  it  is  again  two  miles  wide.  It  here 
divides  —  a  branch  of  from  one  fourth  of  a  mile  to 
a  mile  broad,  passing  round  either  side  of  the 
island.  The  whole  width  of  the  river  measuring 
across  the  centre  of  Grand  Island,  is  more  than 
eight  miles. 

Below  Grand  Island,  and  opposite  to  Schlosser, 
it  is  nearly  three  miles  across,  and  has  the  appear- 
ance of  a  beautiful  glassy  lake,  such  as  one  might 
fancy  in  an  Italian  landscape.  Lower  down,  it 
narrows  to  less  than  a  mile,  and  soon  after  spreads 
again  to  a  mile  and  a  half.  At  the  Falls,  it  is 
about  (liree  fourth  of  a  mile  wide  ;  a  short  dis- 
tance below,  it  is  contracted  to  fifty-six  rods,  and 
at  the  Whirlpool,  is  but  a  stone's  throw,  or  one 


-l! 


t     , 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


77 


i 


hundred  and  fifty  yards  across.      This  isihc  nar- 
rowest part  of  the  strait. 

Its  depth  is  also  very  unequal,  nieaiL-iiring  in 
some  places  not  over  fifteen  or  twenty,  and  in 
others  nearly  three  hundred  feet.  For  this  f^reat 
inequality,  it  is  extremely  dillicult,  if  not  alto- 
gether impossible,  satisfactorily  to  account.  As 
may  he  supposed,  from  these  striking  irrej^ularities 
ill  the  breadth  and  depth  of  the  stream,  the  velocity 
of  the  current  is  also  very  variable,  averaging 
from  four  lo  live  miles  an  hour  to  the  commence- 
ment of  ilie  rapids,  where  it  is  greatly  increased. 

At  this  point,  the  bed  of  the  river  declines,  the 
channel  contracts,  numerous  large  rocks  heave  up 
the  rolling  surges,  and  dispute  the  passage  of  the 
now  raL^ing  and  foaming  (loods.  The  miuhty  tor- 
rent leaping  down  successive  ledges,  dasliing  over 
opposing  elevations,  hurled  back  by  ridges,  and 
repelh'd  from  shores  and  islands,  phmging,  boilinf;, 
roarinir,  seems  a  mad  wilderness  of  waters,  striv- 
ing against  its  better  fate,  and  hurried  on  to  des- 
truction by  its  own  blind  and  reckless  impetuosity. 
Were  there  no  cataract,  these  rapids  would  yet 
make  Niagara  the  wonder  of  the  world. 

Most  rivers  proper,  are  subject  to  great  changes 
in  the  (luantity  of  water  which  is  carried  down  at 
dillerent    seasons,   sometimes    overtlowinjj:    their 


1  b 


m 


il 


'  V'l 


^l 


78 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


banks,  and  inundating  the  flat  country  tlirough 
which  they  pass  ;  and  at  other  periods  being 
comparatively  low  and  diminutive.  Such  is  not 
the  case  with  the  Niagara  strait.  It  constantly 
presents  the  same  uniform  appearance,  and  is  ?it 
all  times  a  deep,  powerful,  rapid,  majestic  stream, 
pouring  its  ceaseless  floods  forever  on  to  the 
mighty  cataract,  over  which  they  dash ;  and 
scarcely  affected  by  the  snows  of  winter,  the  heat 
of  summer,  the  rain,  the  drought,  the  calm,  or  the 
storm.  This  peculiarity,  is  of  course  owing  to  the 
great  superficial  extent  of  the  lake  in  which  it  has 
its  origin,  and  of  the  vast  seas  and  rivers  above, 
from  which  its  supplies  are  drawn.  The  close 
observer  would  however  soon  perceive,  that,  ope- 
rated upon  by  local  causes,  it  rises  and  falls  occa- 
sionally, though  not  to  an  extent  sufficient  to  alter 
its  general  aspect. 

Before  the  application  of  steam  power  to  mara- 
time  purposes,  the  navigation  of  the  Niagara  river 
must  have  been  attended  with  many  and  almost 
insuperable  difficulties.  The  velocity  of  the  cur- 
rent, the  occasional  great  depth  of  the  channel, 
the  lake  winds,  blowing  almost  constantly  down 
the  stream,  and  the  breadth  o{  the  strait,  making 
it  troublesome  to  cross,  must  have  rendered  the 
upward    progress   of  batteaux,    barges,  or   other 


i 


\ 


TO  nma(tARA  falls. 


79 


vessels  of  any  considerable  size,  whether  propelled 
by  setting  poles,  oars,  or  warping,  a  work  of 
immense  toil  and  protracted  exertion.  But  since 
the  introduction  of  steamboats,  so  admirably 
adapted  to  river-navigation,  and  able  alike  to 
breast  the  strongest  currents,  and  make  head 
against  opposing  tempests,  the  passage  of  the 
strait  from  the  lowest  p  acticable  point  to  the 
lake  above,  is  easily  made  in  from  two  to  three 
hours ;  and  thus,  that  which  was  formerly  the 
labour  of  days,  is  reduced  to  the  recreation  —  for 
a  steam  voyage  up  the  Niagara  cannot  be  other- 
wise than  delightful  —  of  a  mere  play-spell. 

The  genius  of  Fulton  has  chained  the  elements, 
taken  captive  the  storm,  and  subdued  the  flood. 
It  has  joined  remote  distances,  united  seas,  and 
made  almost  impassable  rivers  the  great  highways 
of  Nations.  It  has  done  more  !  — The  missionary 
of  art,  science,  and  civilization,  his  wonderful 
invention  has,  with  a  rapidity  that  sets  time  and 
space  alike  at  defiance,  carried  to  far-ofl'  places, 
and  almost  unapproachable  seclusions,  a  know- 
ledge of  the  most  important  truths  and  sublime 
discoveries.  By  the  nmte  teaching  of  its  power, 
and  its  complete  subservience  to  the  wants, 
wishes,  and  caprices  of  man,  it  has  given  birth 
to  a  spirit  of  energy,   enterprise,  and  emulation, 


*  \m 


4i1  '.^ 


80 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


which,  iUr  from  the  least  beneficial  of  its  results, 
has  clian^^ed  the  face  of  nature,  and  exalted  the 
destiny  of  liie  human  race. 

Immortal  Fulton  !  how  much  is  the  happiness 
of  individuals,  the  welfare  of  nations,  and  even 
the  interests  of  religion  indebted  to  thy  persever- 
ing and  far-reaching  genius.  What  does  not  the 
world  owe  to  a  mind  that  could  originate,  and  a 
zeal  that  could  conduct  —  and  that  too,  in  spite  of 
prejudices  and  obstacles  that  would  have  tried  the 
patience  of  a  saint,  and  exhausted  the  firnmess  of 
a  martyr  —  to  a  successful  and  triumphant  issue, 
the  establishmentof  such  an  astonisiiiiig  and  ines- 
timable agency  of  good  1  Greece  or  Home  would 
have  given  to  Fulton  a  place  among  the  Gods, 
and  erected  pillars,  statues,  arches,  temples,  and 
altars  to  his  honour.  America  has  done  better  ! 
She  has  called  her  villages,  towns,  and  counties 
by  his  name,  and  covered  her  seas,  lakes,  and 
rivers  witli  moving  monuments  to  his  memory  ; 
while  every  pharos  that  lights  her  busy  ports, 
shines  upon  the  pulsing  proofs  of  his  lame  and 
genius. 

There  are  about  forty  islands  in  tiie  Niagara 
strait,  above  the  cataract.  Most  of  them  are 
small,  insignificant,  and  scarcely  worthy  of  enu- 
meration.    Of  those  immediately  at  the  Falls,  we 


1 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


81 


•IS, 

ind 


shall  have  occasion  to  speak  in  another  place. 
Saving  these,  Grand  and  Navy  Islands  are  the  only 
two  to  which  any  peculiar  interest  is  attached. 

Grand  Island  is  about  twelve  miles  long  and 
six  broad  ;  its  upper  extremity  is  about  seven 
miles  from  the  lake,  its  lowest  point  three  miles 
above  the  Falls.  It  contains  over  seventeen  thou- 
sand acres  of  excellent  land,  heavily  timbered, 
and  plentifully  stocked  with  game.  It  is  a  favour- 
ite resort  for  Indian  hunters,  and  sportsmen  from 
Buffi  lo  and  other  places.  This  Island,  with  most 
others  in  the  strait,  belongs  to  the  United  States, 
the  main  channel  of  the  river  being  on  the  west 
or  Canada  side.  The  vanity  and  folly  of  an  am- 
bitious Israelite,  first  gave  it  notoriety, — it  has 
since  attained  a  celebrity  of  a  difl'erent  kind. 

In  181)3,  the  Boston  Timber  Company  purchas- 
ed the  major  part  of  Grand  Island  of  the  State  of 
New- York,  and  commenced  the  erection  of  large 
mills  for  the  purpose  of  sui)plying  the  eastern 
market  with  shipping  timber  roady  <itted  for  use, 
the  fine  forests  of  towering  oaks  and  firs  on  the 
island  furnishing  abundant  material  of  the  best 
kind,  and  of  easy  access.  These  mills  cover  an 
area  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  square.  They 
are  (or  rather  wore,  for  their  operations  are  at 
present    suspended)    driven    by   steam,    contain 

V 


>M 


\ 


r~  - 

1^ 


Tm' 


it; 


82 


PICTORIAL    GUiDE 


fifteen  separate  gangs  or  sets  of  saws,  and  cut 
logs  from  ten  to  seventy  feet  in  length.  Con- 
nected with  these  mills,  there  is  a  large  steam 
flouring-mill,  and  a  small,  but  pleasant  little  vil- 
lage, called  White-Haven,  from  the  name  of  the 
principal  proprietor.  The  village  is  directly  op- 
posite Tonawanda,  on  the  site  of  the  never-built 
city  of  Arrarat,  and  the  mills  are  a  short  distance 
below.  They  are  well  worth  a  visit,  which  is 
cisiiy  made,  as  the  steamboats  that  ply  between 
Buffalo  and  the  Falls,  usually  land  there  to  pro- 
(  ure  the  necessary  article  of  fuel. 

In  1759,  upon  the  conquest  of  the  Canadas  by 
the  English,  two  large.  French  vessels  were  burnt 
at  the  lower  end  of  Grand  iFland,  to  prevent  them 
falling  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  Parts  of  their 
charred  remains  are  said  to  be  still  visible,  and 
not  long  since,  several  tons  of  iron  were  recover- 
ed from  the  river,  by  raking  its  bed  at  the  point 
where  they  were  destroyed,  which  portion  of  the 
stream,  is,  from  that  circumstance,  called  Burnt- 
Ship  Bay,  a  ad  is  included  between  Grand  and 
the  north  west  extremity  of  Buck-I^orn  Islands. 
This  lalier,  is  long,  low,  and  marshy,  and  con- 
tflins  one  hundred  and  forty-six  acres.  It  is  unim- 
portant in  any  resptc^ 

Navy  Island,  belonging  to  the  Er'tish  dominions, 


I' 


I 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


83 


lies  near  the  foot  of  Grand  Island,  between  that 
and  the  Canada  shore  :  — the  principal  channel  of 
the  strait  is  l)etween  these  two  islands.  It  is  a 
mile  long,  half  a  mile  wide,  and  contains  three 
hundred  and  four  acres  of  land.  The  soil  is  rich, 
and  covered  with  a  heavy  growth  of  timber.  It 
derives  its  name  from  having  been  a  French 
naval  depot,  where  the  two  vessels  mentioned 
above,  and  other  smaller  ones  were  constructed. 

Tiiis  island  has  become  celebrated  in  conse- 
quence of  having  been  occupied  by  McKenzie, 
Van  Rensselaer,  Sutherland,  and  others,  refugees 
and  'sublime'  patriots,  as  a  military  station,  dur- 
ing the  border  excitement  of  1837  and  '38,  an 
account  of  which,  and  of  the  destruction  of  the 
Caroline  is  reserved  for  a  subsequent  page. 


CI  I 

•ill 


if 


k:il 


84  PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


CH  A  PTER    VII. 

NIAOARA  RIVER  —  COURSE  AND  VEr.oriTY — r.OVEMNESS  —  DI- 
VISIONS ANDCIIAKACTERISTICS — HKHJHT  OF  BANKS  —  DEPTH 
—  BREADTH  —  DESCENT  OF  THE  STREAM  —  RETROCESSION  OF 
THE  FALLS  —  CONCLLDINO  REMARKS. 

" Miijcstic  stroiun!  what  rivor  rivals  thee, 

Thou  child  of  many  lakes  and  sire  of  one  — 

Lakes  that  claim  kindred  with  the  all-circling  sea  — 

Large  at  thy  birth  as  when  thy  race  is  run! 

Against  what  great  obstructions  hast  thou  won 

Thine  august  way  —  the  rock-fornicd  mountain-plain 

Has  opened  at  thy  biddiuL',  and  the  steep 

Bars  not  thy  passage,  for  the  ledge  in  vain 

Stretches  across  the  channel,  —  tbou  dost  leap 

Sublimely  down  the  height,  and  urge  again 

Thy  rock-embattled  course  on  to  the  distant  main." 

TAGARA  river  is,  in  its  whole 
course,  quite  in  keeping  with  the 
stupendous  cataract  from  which  its 
principal  interest  is  derived.  There 
is  nothing  insigniiicant,  nothing  pal- 
try, nothing  connnon-place  ahout  it,  from  the  lake 
in  which  its  vast  floods  have  birth,  to  that  which 
they  supply.  It  is  every  where  grand,  mighty, 
and  majestic.  When  spread  to  the  dimensions  of 
a  little  sea,  it  has  no  resemblance  to  a  shoal ;  and 
when  contracted  to  the  breadth  of  a  creek,  it 
seems  to  possess  the  power  of   an   ocean.     The 


1 


1 

I 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


85 


very  interrn|)tions  it  meets  with  in  its  way,  seem 
placed  there  only  to  exhibit  the  immensity  of  its 
force.  The  basin  which  receives  its  prodigious 
far-falling  volume,  resembles  an  abyss  without 
bounds  to  its  capacity  ;  and  the  compressed  chan- 
nel through  which  it  then  flows,  seems  to  have 
opened  its  rock-bound  banks  to  an  imprisoned  sea, 
that -would  have  burst  a  passage,  had  escape  been 
denied. 

Making  a  sharp  angle  at  the  Falls,  it  rolls  on 
through  beautiful  curves,  in  an  almost  straight 
direction  for  about  two  miles  ;  then  winds  grace- 
fully off  to  the  left,  and  passing  through  a  succes- 
sion of  nobk'  bends,  rushes,  wild,  impetuous  and 
uncontrollabh',  into  the  Whirlpool,  where,  like  a 
baffled  Titan  struggling  with  his  bonds,  it  rages 
and  i)lunges  round  the  impenetrable  barriers  that 
hem  it  in  ;  and  at  last,  having  gathered  anew  its 
mighty  energies,  rushes  headlong  on  in  a  fresh 
direction,  and  bounds  away,  free,  fearless,  and 
triumphant. 

Continuing  in  its  new  course  —  having  turned 
less  than  a  right-angle — but  a  short  distance,  it 
rolls  away  gradually  to  the  west,  and  having  re- 
gained its  former  direction,  hurries  on,  inclining 
now  to  the  right,  and  again  bending  io  the  left, 
here    maddened   by  restraint,   and   there  soothed 


ii 


i;. 


'  i: 


I 


86 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


by  expansion,  to  the  end  of  the  mountain-plaini 
from  the  gaping  jaws  of  which  it  rushes  angrily 
forth,  but  soon  recovering  the  serenity  of  itd  ua- 
tive  seas,  and  no  longer  chafed  or  enraged,  it 
flows  qui<  tly  and  smoothly  on,  through  gentle 
curves  and  wooing  bunks,  to  the  sweet  lake  whose 
soft  embrace  it  has  come  so  far,  and  encountered 
so  much,  to  meet,  and  in  whose  peaceful  bosom 
it  finally  sinks  to  repose. 

From  the  foot  of  the  mountain  ridge  to  lake 
Ontario,  nothing  can  be  more  lovely  than  this 
river.  It  is  a  rapture  to  look  upon  its  bright  and 
tranquil  course.  It  glides  along  so  silently  and 
almost  imperceptibly,  its  surface  is  so  calm  and 
glassy,  its  breadth  so  uniform  and  expansive,  its 
waters  so  clear  and  deep,  its  banks  so  smooth  and 
regular,  its  curvatures  bo  gradual  and  alternate,  its 
whole  aspect  so  pleasing  and  harmonious,  that  a 
delicious  languor  steals  over  the  mind,  the  spirit 
yields  itself  unconsciously  to  a  sweet  oblivion  of 
turbulence  and  strife,  and  its  contemplations  are  of 
sunny  skies,  shining  streams,  and  shady  groves. 
The  eye  lingers  with  delight  upon  the  blended 
hues,  the  graceful  turns,  and  emerald  shores  of 
the  no  longer  agitnted,  but  now  beautiful  Niag- 
ara ;  and  the  soul,  at  peace  with  itself,  with  nature, 
and  with  all  things,  indulges  in  a  dreamy  delirium 


I 


i 


TO   NIAGARA    FALLS. 


87 


of  joy,  unshadowed  by  care,  untinged  with  gloom, 
and  unbroken  by  tumult. 

Each  of  the  four  great  divisions  of  the  strait  has 
its  peculiar  and  distinguishing  characteristics. 
Those  are  from  Lake  Erie  to  the  rapids,  majesty, 
extent,  variety  ;  from  the  rapids  to  the  ferry,  im- 
mensity, energy,  sublimity ;  from  the  ferry  to 
Lewiston,  restraint,  activity,  vigour  ;  from  Lewis- 
ton  to  Lake  Ontario,  placid 'ty,  beauty,  repose. 
The  banks  of  the  river  p  i<.e  of  the  ditierent 
features  of  the  stream.  Above  the  Falls  they  are 
of  variable  height,  shape,  and  consistency,  now 
low,  grassy,  and  lawn-like,  and  now  high,  dark, 
and  frowning  ;  at  the  Falls  they  are  bold,  grand, 
impending  ;  from  the  ferry  to  Lewiston,  tliey  are 
lofty,  rugged,  uneven  ;  and  from  thence  to  the 
lake,  they  are  smooth,  sloping  and  regular.  From 
the  efHux  of  the  river,  to  the  cataract,  they  are 
from  five  to  one  hundred  feet  high  ;  from  the  Falls 
to  the  end  of  the  mountain  ridge,  they  are  from 
one  hundred  and  seventy,  to  three  hundred  and 
seventy  feet  perpendicular  height ;  at  Lewiston 
they  are  one  hundred  feet  high,  and  from  thence 
to  the  lake,  they  have  a  gradual  and  unbroken 
descent.  At  Schlosser  the  banks  are  thirteen 
feet  higher  than  the  level  of  Lake  Erie  ;  at  the 
Falls   they   are   one  hundred   and   nine  feet,  and 


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at  the  heights    near  Lewiston,    thirty-eight   feet 
above  the  same  level. 

The  river  below  the  Falls  and  near  the  ferry,  is 
two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  deep,  as  ascertained  by 
actual  measurement,  —  in  other  places,  no  bottom 
has  ever  been  found.  Its  width  at  the  ferry,  is 
about  seventy-six  rods ;  a  short  distance  below,  it 
is  contracted  to  fifty-six  rods  ;  from  thence  to 
Lewiston,  it  varies  from  twenty-five  to  one  hun- 
dred rods,  and  from  Lewiston  to  the  lake,  from 
one  half  to  three  fourths  of  a  mile  in  breadth. 
The  narrowest  point  is  at  the  Whirlpool,  where  it 
is  but  twenty-five  rods  across. 

The  descent  of  the  river  from  its  efflux,  to  Black 
Rock  is  six  feet  ;  from  thence  to  the  rapids,  ten 
feet ;  from  the  head  of  the  rapids  to  the  cataract, 
fifty-eight  feet ;  the  cataract  itself,  one  hundred 
and  fifty-four  feet  ;  from  the  Falls  to  Lewiston, 
one  hundred  and  four  feet ;  and  from  Lewiston  to 
Lake  Ontario,  about  two  feet.  The  whole  de- 
clivity of  the  strait  from  Lake  Erie  to  Lake 
Ontario,  is  therefore  three  hundred  and  thirty- 
four  feet  ! 

It  has  been  a  subject  of  much  dispute,  whether 
or  not  the  Falls  have  receded  from  the  heights  at 
Lewiston  to  their  present  place,  and  the  question 
yet  remains  undecided.      The   author's   opinion 


I 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


89 


may  be  of  small  importance,  but  it  is  proper  that 
it  should  be  expressed.  From  a  careful  observa- 
tion of  all  their  phenomena,  and  of  the  whole 
extent  of  the  chasm,  he  is  satisfied  that  they  have, 
but  that  their  retrocession  has  been  extremely  slow. 
The  nature  of  the  rocks,  the  appearance  of  the 
channel,  the  known  history  of  the  cataract,  all 
seem  to  confirm  the  supposition. 

If  it  be  true  that  they  have  so  far  receded,  to 
what  august  speculations  does  it  not  give  rise  ? 
What  a  time  must  have  elapsed,  what  a  prodigious 
power  must  have  been  exerted,  ere  the  floods  of 
this  mighty  river  could  have  rent  a  passage  three 
hundred  feet  deep,  through  the  living  rocks,  for  a 
distance  of  seven  miles  !  When  did  this  great 
work  commence  ?  What  progress,  and  what 
pauses  were  made  ?  How  long  was  its  course 
delayed  in  hollowing  out  that  vast  basin  the  Whirl- 
pool ?  When  was  the  first  crag  torn  from  the 
rugged  brow  of  Iris  Island  ?  How  long  has  the 
cataract  been  digging  at  the  dread  abyss  upon 
whose  verge  it  labours  ?  Imagination  recoils  in 
terror  frdrln  the  task  of  tracing  this  stupendous 
movement.  Untold  ages  must  have  watched  with 
awe  the  **  sublime  march  of  Niagara  to  the  music 
of  its  own  deep  thunders  I" 

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PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


hand,  the  main  features  of  the  strait  in  which  the 
Falls  resound,  and  given  a  brief,  but  accurate  ac- 
count of  the  several  towns,  villages,  and  other 
places  on  its  borders,  we  come  now  to  the  great 
cataract  itself,  and  the  many  remarkable  scenes  in 
its  vicinity  ;  and  if  we  fail  to  describe  that  which 
is  far  too  grand  for  description,  we  shall  at  least 
endeavour  to  direct  the  attention  of  the  reader  to  all 
the  different  points  and  views  which  he  ought  to 
visit  and  examine,  relate  so  much  of  them  as  may 
be  told,  and  thus  guide  him  to  a  right  observation 
and  a  proper  judgment  of  this  most  sublime  and 
magnificent  object  of  wonder  and  curiosity  in  the 
known  material  universe. 


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PICTORIAL  GUIDE 

TO 

NIAGARA    FALLS. 

PART    II. 

THE   CATARACT 

AND    OTHER 

OBJECTS    OF    CURIOSITY. 

"  Flow  on  forever  in  thy  glorious  robe 

Of  terror  and  of  beauty.     God  hath  set 

His  rainbow  on  thy  forehead,  and  the  cloud 

Mantles  around  thy  feet!" 

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TO 


NIAGARA    FALLS. 


CHAPTER     I. 

APOSTROPHE  TO  THE  FALLS  —  FIRST  FEELING  —  GENERAL  FEA- 
TURES—  THE  RAPIDS  —  CASCADES  —  FORM  AND  SIZE  OF  THE 
CATARACT  —  SPRAY  —  THE  ABYSS  —  WATKR  CARRIED  OVER 
—  ROAR — BAROMETRICAL — VIBRATIONS'  OF  THE  EARTH  — 
HUES  AND  TINTS  —  SC ENERY  —  SUM M ER  —  AUTUM N  —  WIN- 
TER—  ICE-BRIDOE — DESIGN  OF  THE   CREATOR. 

"  My  brain  grows  wild,  sense  wanders  as  I  gazo 
Upon  the  hurrying  waters,  and  my  sight 
Vainly  would  follow,  as  towards  the  verge 
Sweeps  the  wide  torrent.    Waves  innumerable 
Meet  there  and  madden  ;  waves  innumerable 
Urge  on  and  overtake  the  waves  before, 
And  disappear  in  thunder  and  in  foam. 
They  reach,  they  leap  the  barrier  :  the  abyss 
Swallows  insatiable  the  sinking  waves. 
A  thousand  rainbows  arch  them,  and  the  woods 
Are  deafened  with  the  everlasting  roa'",' 

O  N  A  R  C  H  of  floods  «  how  shall  I 
approach  thee? — how  speak  of  thy 
glory  ?  —  how  extol  thy  beauty  ? 
Ages  have  seen  thy  awful  majesty  ; 
earth  has  paid  tribute  to  thy  great- 
ness ;  the  best  and  wisest  among  men  have  bent 


I 


i  ' 


;; 


94 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


the  knee  at  thy  footstool,  but  none  have  and 
none  can  describe  thee  !  Alone  thou  standest 
among  the  wonders  of  nature,  unshaken  by  the 
shock  of  contending  elements,  flinging  back  the 
flash  of  the  lightning,  and  outroaring  the  thunder 
of  the  tempests*  rage  !  Allied  to  the  everlasting 
hills,  and  claiming  kindred  with  the  eternal  flood, 
thou  art  pillared  upon  the  one,  and  the  other  sup- 
plies thy  surge.  Primeval  rocks  environ,  clouds 
cover,  and  the  rainbow  crowns  thee.  A  divine 
sublimity  rests  on  thy  fearful  brow,  an  awful  beau- 
ty is  revealed  in  thy  terrible  countenance,  and  the 
heavy  earth  is  shaken  by  thy  tremendous  voice. 
Born  in  the  dark  past,  and  alive  to  the  distant  fu- 
ture, what  to  thee  are  the  paltry  concerns  of  man's 
ambition  ?  —  the  rise  or  fall  of  empires  and  dynas- 
ties, the  contests  of  kings,  or  the  crash  of  thrones  ? 
Thou  art  unmoved  by  the  fate  of  nations,  and  the 
revolutions  of  the  earth  are  to  thee  but  the  pulses 
of  time.  Kings  before  thee  are  but  men,  and  man 
but  a  type  of  insignificance  ! 

Such  are  some  of  the  sensations  and  thoughts 
awakened  at  the  sight  of  Niagara.  Such  sublimi- 
ty, such  immensity,  such  power  !  Overshadow- 
ing all  earthly  considerations  by  its  solemn  great- 
ness, and  contrasting  the  feebleness  of  human 
strength    with    a  force   visibly  reaching  to   the 


) 


TO    N  I  A  (r  A  R  A    FALLS. 


95 


infinite,  the  cataract  impresses  altnost  every  one 
who  beliolds  it  for  thefirsttime,  with  the  feeling  of 
self-abasement  so  well  expressed  by  Mrs.  Sigour- 
ney  in  the  lines  — 

•*Thou  (lost  make  the  soul 
A  wondering  witness  of  thy  majesty, 
And  while  it  rushes  with  delirious  joy 
To  tread  thy  vestibule,  dost  chain  its  steps, 
And  check  its  rapture,  with  the  humbling  view 
Of  its  own  nothingness;" 

and  so  entirely  confounds  him  by  its  magnitude, 
grandeur,  and  energy,  that  he  is  for  a  time  utterly 
unable  to  individualize  and  appreciate  the  august 
and  inefl'able  attributes  of  this  wonderful  and 
glorious  work,  of  the  Omnipotent  Architect,  who 
formed  and  harmonized  its  amazing  and  awful 
proportions. 

After  having  become  more  familiarized  with  its 
general  aspect,  and  examined  it  more  in  detail, 
we  find  that  it  is  in  every  part  entitled  to  unbound- 
ed admiration.  Every  time  it  is  looked  upon,  some 
new  beauty,. or  some  fresh  sublimity  is  perceived, 
and  we  begin  gradually  to  realize  what  a  grand 
combination  of  separate  ajid  distinct  objects  of 
interest  are  blended  into  one  overpowering  and 
perfect  whole,  the  tout  ensemble  of  which  leaves 
nothing  to  be  desired,  and    can    by  nothing   be 


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96 


PICTORIA  L    GUIDE 


paralleled.  It  may  tire  the  eye  by  its  vastnesa,  and 
fatigue  the  ear  by  its  rush,  but  can  never  pall  upon 
the  mind,  and  when  the  senses  are  refreshed  by 
rest,  they  return  to  it  with  delight.  The  soul 
clings  to  it  with  a  likeness  of  religious  faith,  for 
awe  becomes  softened  into  love,  and  affection  is 
elevated  to  reverence.  All  things  really  great  or 
beautiful  grow  upon  our  esteem  at  each  succeed- 
ing interview  or  communion  ;  as  on  the  other  hand, 
all  things  insignificant  or  ugly  lessen  in  our  respect 
every  time  they  are  encountered. 

A  mighty  river  pours  down  a  tremendous  height, 
and  falls  into  a  vast  abyss  :  —  this  is  a  grand  cata- 
ract—  Niagara  is  something  more.  Its  sea  of 
rapids,  its  clouds  of  spray,  its  lake  of  foam,  its 
projecting  cliffs,  its  piled-up  rocks,  its  gorgeous 
colours,  its  fine  cascades,  its  lovely  islands,  its 
giant  caves,  its  deafening  roar,  —  these,  and  a 
host  of  other  marvels  and  beauties,  combine  to 
make  up  that  wonderful  thing,  Niagara  !  and  each 
of  these  claims  especial  attention,  and  is  worthy 
of  particular  praise. 

The  river  Niagara,  after  a  course  of  twenty- 
one  miles,  has  a  rapid  declination,  and  rushing 
down  with  inconceivable  fury,  is  impeded  by  rocks 
and  ledges,  dashing  around  and  over  which  it  is 
thrown  into  terrible  confusion,  and,  leaping  here, 


t 


\ 


TO   NIAGARA    FALLS. 


97 


plunging  tliere,  rnging,  tumbling,  whirling,  foam- 
ing on,  boiling  in  one  place,  billowing  in  anotht-r, 
and  maddening  every  where,  is  so  convulsed  and 
tossed  about  that  it  resembles  literally  a  '*hell  of 
waters."  Such  arc  the  rapids  —  more  particu- 
larly that  part  of  them  nearest  the  American 
shore.  On  the  opposite  side,  the  bed  of  the  river 
has  a  greater  declivity,  the  water  is  much  deeper, 
and  the  intumescence  less  apparent.  There,  how- 
ever, they  are  immensely  grand,  and  the  pro- 
digious volume  of  water  rushing  down  from  ledge 
to  ledge,  with  an  impetuosity  beyond  conception 
violent,  forms  a  scene  less  turbulent,  but,  if  pos- 
sible, even  more  magnificent. 

At  the  head  of  the  rapids  the  river  is  bifurcated 
by  Goat  or  Iris  Island,  which  separates  it  into  two 
unequal  parts  —  that  on  the  Canada  side  being 
much  the  broadest  —  which  are  not  again  united 
until  it  has  passed  the  cataract,  the  Island  extend- 
ing to,  and  forming  part  of  the  precipice,  and  thus 
dividing  the  fall  into  two  several  and  distinct  cas- 
cades. Hence  the  plural  Falls.  An  inconsider- 
able portion  of  the  lesser  of  these  cascades  is  cut 
off  on  the  side  next  Iris  Island,  by  Luna  or  Pros- 
pect Island,  and  is  called  the  Central  Fall.  The 
water  consequently  descends  in  three  distinct 
sheets  ;  and  we  have  the  American  or  Schlosser 

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98 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


Fall  between  the  American  shore  and  Prospect 
Island  ;  the  Central  or  Crescent  Fall  between 
Prospect  and  Iris  Islands,  and  the  British  or 
Horse-shoe  Fall  between  Iris  Island  and  the  Can- 
ada shore  —  these  form  the  Cataract  of  Niagara. 

The  form  of  the  cataract  is  an  irregular  indent- 
ed curve,  measuring  —  Iris  and  Prospect  Islands 
inclusive — something  more  than  fourteen  hun- 
dred yards,  or  above  three  fourths  of  a  mile  —  the 
periphery  of  the  Horse-shoe  Fall  being  about 
seven  hundred  yards,  of  the  Central  Fall  about 
twenty  yards,  and  of  the  American  Fall  three 
hundred  and  thirty  yards.  The  perpendicular 
visible  descent,  on  the  American  side,  is  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty-four  feet  —  of  the  Horse-shoe  Fall, 
one  hundred  and  fifty-eight  feet.  By  far  the 
largest  portion  of  the  river,  is  carried  over  the 
Horse-shoe  Fall,  where  the  water  is  so  deep  as 
to  flow  almost  smoothly  over,  and  pass  down  in 
one  vast  unbroken  sheet. 

The  spray  from  this  part  of  the  Falls  rises  in 
such  dense  masses,  as  sometimes  to  obscure  near- 
ly the  whole  view  from  below,  and  hovers  in  such 
vast  clouds  above  the  cataract  as  to  be  visible 
forty  or  fifty  miles.  It  is  often  seen  by  the  dis- 
tant observer,  when  the  sky  is  clear  and  there  is 
no  wind,  to  float  up  and  undulate  gently  above  the 


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1 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


99 


LS 

le 


Falls,  like  an  immense  milk-white  plume,  fringed 
with  gold,  and  tinted  with  the  most  delicate  and 
beautiful  colours.  When  the  wind  is  strong 
down  the  river,  the  spray  fills  the  whole  chasm 
with  a  thick  foggy  mist,  and  renders  the  ferry- 
crossing  not  a  little  uncomfortable,  from  the 
drenching  showers  that  fall  around.  At  sunrise 
on  a  clear  morning,  other  circumstances  being 
favourable,  the  rising  mists,  or  spray,  present  a 
variety  of  beautiful  and  interesting  phenomena; 
now  rolling  up  in  huge  fantastic  and  curling  vol- 
umes, glowing  in  richest  purple,  crimson,  gold, 
and  a  thousand  other  bright  and  blended  hues  ; 
and  now  sparkling  in  the  light  like  a  shower  of 
precious  stones,  or  as  if  the  prismatick  rays  were 
frolicking  among  the  falling  drops. 

The  foot  of  the  Falls  is  never  seen  from  these 
dense  clouds  of  mist  and  spray,  that  are  forever 
rolling  up  ;  and  the  great  body  of  water  in  the 
basin  below  is  violently  agitated  and  tossed,  pant- 
ing and  throbbing  as  if  it  had  an  imprisoned  earth- 
quake struggling  to  get  free,  within  its  heaving 
bosom,  or  was  convulsed  by  the  torture  of  internal 
fires.  The  whole  surface  is  covered  with  a  thick 
white  foam,  and  resembles  a  tempestuous  sea  of 
milk,  surging,  boiling,  whirling,  and  billowing  as 
it  rolls  away,  and  at  last,  rippling  and  dissolving  in 


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PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


the  distance,  or  nestling  in  little  patches  among  the 
rocks  and  eddies  of  the  shore.  Seen  from  above, 
the  abyss  appears  like  a  vast  seething  cauldron, 
bubbling,  foaming,  and  steaming  up,  without  re- 
laxation, and  without  repose.  This  confused  tur- 
bulence, is  undoubtedly  occasioned  by  the  action 
and  reaction  of  the  prodigious  body  of  water  fall- 
ing from  so  great  a  height,  and  forced  to  such  an 
immense  depth.  The  buried  volumes  crowding 
each  other  on,  and  pushing  and  displacing  the 
superincumbent  mass,  with  an  energy  and  power 
proportioned  to  their  quantity  and  impulsion,  must 
of  necessity  produce  a  tremendous  agitation,  and 
keep  the  whole  accumulating  and  shifting  flood  in 
constant  commotion  and  turmoil. 

The  quantity  of  water  precipitated  over  the  cat- 
aract has  been  variously  estimated  by  different  per- 
sons. Dr.  Dwight,  supposing  a  current  of  six 
miles  an  hour,  computes  it  at  1,225,125,000  tons 
per  day  ;  102,093,750  tons  per  hour  ;  170,156  tons 
per  minute  ;  and  28,359  tons  per  second  ;  and 
this,  incredibly  great  as  the  quantity  must  appear, 
is  probably  a  close  approximation  to  the  truth. 
Of  course,  it  is  not  always  the  same.  A  strong 
wind  down  the  lake  has  the  effect  of  raising  the 
river  above  the  Falls  one  or  two  feet,  and  inverse- 
ly in  a  less  proportion.     A  rise  of  eighteen  inches 


V\ 

i     I 
it    ; 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


101 


above  the  cataract,  causes  the  water  to  rise  in  the 
basin  beneath,  above  fifteen  feet.  This  phenome- 
non is  owing  to  the  contraction  of  the  channel 
below. 

The  banks  of  the  river  at  the  Falls,  average 
nearly  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  height,  and 
present  a  most  imposing  appearance.  In  sev- 
eral places  they  project  over  to  a  considerable 
distance  ;  —  at  Table  Rock,  in  particular,  this 
feature  is  strikingly  apparent,  and  enables  the 
visiter  to  pass  some  distance  under  the  great  sheet 
itself,  where  one  of  the  most  grand  and  impres- 
sive scenes  is  presented  to  the  awe-struck  be- 
holder, of  which  it  is  possible  to  conceive.  Along 
the  whole  end  of  Iris  Island  the  vast  rock  of  which 
it  is  composed,  is  also  impending,  and  has  a  dan- 
gerous and  fearful  aspect,  wLich  produces  upon 
some  nerves,  a  terrific  and  quite  overpowering 
effect. 

The  noise,  or  roar  of  the  cataract,  is  not  so 
astounding  as  the  lover  of  thunder  might  perhaps 
desire  ;  but  it  is  in  keeping  with  the  scene,  and 
may  be  heard  twenty  or  thirty  miles.  Ordinarily, 
it  falls  upon  the  ear  with  a  ceaseless  rushing 
sound,  like  that  of  a  strong  wind  through  a  forest 
of  trees,  for  which  it  is  sometimes  mistaken  by 
persons  approaching  the  Falls.      But  it  is  deep, 


<  i 


hi 
in 


i '  1 


I , 


'  I 


;  f 


!■    H 


.;  .i 


102 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


solemn,  and  continuous,  and  though  it  does  not 
burst  upon  the  tympanum  like  the  startling  crash 
of  worlds,  is  yet  inconceivably  impressive.  Some 
whose  auricular  organs  are  more  delicately  attun- 
ed than  those  of  the  many,  find  it  almost  insup- 
portable. People  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Falls,  from 
constantly  hearing  it,  become  so  familiarized  with 
the  sound,  that  it  is  scarcely  perceived  —  like  the 
air  they  breathe,  it  is  a  part  of  the  world  in  which 
they  live  and  move,  and  hence,  too  common  to 
be  remarked.  It  has  been  said,  that  its  eflect 
upon  the  inhabitants  near,  is,  in  time,  to  make 
them  deaf  ;  but  this,  if  it  be  so,  is  a  fact  yet  to  be 
established.  In  the  village,  its  sweeter  and  sub- 
limer  sounds  are  hardly  perceptible  ;  and  even  on 
the  islands,  or  at  Table  Rock,  are,  so  to  speak, 
nearly  drowned  in  the  rush  and  roar  of  the  tum- 
bling floods  ;  but  stop  and  listen  —  on  the  Terrapin 
Bridge  for  instance  —  and  above,  and  as  it  were 
breaking  through  the  general  roar,  you  will  hear 
its  sonorous  tones  rolling  up  like  subdued  thunder, 
peal  following  peal,  rising,  falling,  swelling,  and 
diminishing,  in  soft  and  musical  cadences,  and 
hymn'ng  an  eternal  anthem  of  sweet  and  solemn 
praise  to  its  Almighty  Maker.  Not  to  hear  this, 
is  to  lose  one  of  the  most  delectable  pleasures  of 
Niagara. 


'< 


i-; 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


103 


The  state  of  the  atmosphere,  of  course,  affects 
the  roar  of  the  Falls ;  and  the  distance  to  which 
it  may  be  heard  is  consequently  dependent  upon 
the  rarity  or  density  of  the  air.  Generally,  it 
may  be  distinguished  four  or  five  leagues  off,  but 
has  frequently  been  observed  at  Buffalo,  and 
once,  it  is  said,  even  at  Toronto,  forty-five  miles 
distant.  In  the  region  of  country  near  the  cata- 
ract, the  noise  affords  to  the  inhabitants  barometri- 
cal indications  of  the  most  unfailing  and  accurate 
character.  When  the  sound  is  uncommonly  loud 
and  distinct,  however  clear  the  sky,  or  pleasant 
the  season,  it  precurses  a  change  of  weather,  and 
a  coming  storm.  An  opposite  predication  based 
upon  the  reverse  of  this  phenomenon,  is  also  infal- 
libly verified  by  the  event.  And  thus  even  the 
hidden  decrees  of  destiny  are  in  part  revealed  to 
man,  by  the  prophet-voiced  roar  of  the  thunder- 
tongued  cataract. 

The  solid  earth  vibrates  in  unison  with  the  con- 
cussions of  the  cataract,  and  is  affected  sensibly 
by  the  shock  of  the  contending  floods.  You  do 
not  indeed  feel  the  ground  shaking  beneath  your 
feet,  but  in  the  most  substantial  buildings,  a  tre- 
mulous motion  is  at  times  apparent,  which  can 
arise  from  nothing  but  the  jar  of  the  Falls.  In  the 
stillness  of  night,  this  sympathy  of  the  shores  with 


M 


I 


104 


PICTORIAL   GUIDE 


i 


the  cataract,  is  most  apparent ;  the  shutters  creak, 
the  windows  rattle,  and  strangers  sometimea 
awake  in  the  midst  of  a  fancied  tempest,  to  find 
the  sky  serene,  the  winds  hushed,  and  the  bright 
moon  and  stars  shedding  their  silver  rays  upon 
the  beautiful  earth  and  the  shining  stream. 

Almost  every  imaginable  tint  in  nature  may  be 
seen  at  the  Falls,  in  the  gorgeous  and  shifting 
rainbows  that  meet  you  at  almost  every  turn  — 
now  sleeping  quietly  below,  now  arching  the 
chasm,  anon  resting  on  the  brink,  and  then 
stretching  up  from  the  frothing  abyss  to  the  dizzy 
verge  of  the  cataract,  here  shooting  up  from  the 
edge  of  the  precipice,  there  floating  self-poised  in 
the  mid-mist  of  the  vapoury  exhalations,  now 
belting  the  sheet  as  with  a  zone  of  beauty,  and 
often  circling  the  spray  with  a  cestus  more  be- 
witching than  that  of  the  fabled  Venus  —  in  the 
rich  and  diversified  colouring  of  the  rapids,  cas- 
cades, and  basin  ;  and  in  that  of  the  rocks,  trees, 
and  foliage,  the  mists  and  spray,  that  surround, 
cover,  and  beautify  the  most  grand,  lovely,  and 
august  of  all  earthly  manifestations  of  creative 
energy. 

The  sheet  as  it  pours  down  the  precipice  is 
variegated  with  many  exquisite  tints,  the  majority 
of  which  are  so  delicate,  as  to  be  indescribable  — 


i  : 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


105 


here  wreathed  in  sparkling  diamonds,  there  robed 
in  purest  white,  and  elsewhere  shining  in  blue, 
amber,  chrystal,  brown,  yellow,  grey,  and  emer- 
ald hues,  melting  and  blending  together,  as  if  in 
emulation  of  the  Iris  which  hovers  ever  around 
them.  The  foam  in  the  broad  basin  below  is 
generally  of  a  milky  white,  but  is  said  by  Ingra- 
ham  to  present  sometimes  the  appearance  of  a 
'*bed  of  roses  in  a  field  of  snow."  The  usual 
colour  of  the  stream  is  a  deep  green,  but  it  is 
also  tinted  with  various  shades  of  beauty.  The 
grass,  flowers,  and  foliage  on  the  banks  and 
islands,  gemmed  and  starred  with  spray,  and 
glistening  and  flashing  in  the  sunlight,  may  nei- 
ther be  imagined  nor  described. 

The  scenery  about  the  Falls  in  summer,  may 
be  imaged  by  the  lovely  reaching  to  the  sublime  ; 
and  in  winter  by  the  sublime  stooping  to  the 
lovely.  At  the  latter  season  it  is  magnificent,  in 
the  former,  beautiful.  In  autumn  too — how 
glorious,  how  varied,  how  exquisite  it  is  in 
autumn  I 

In  summer,  the  earth,  the  trees,  the  shores,  the 
islands,  and  parts  of  the  very  rocks,  are  clothed 
with  a  living  emerald  of  luxurious  growth.  Wa- 
tered by  the  spray,  the  rich  earth  teems  with  veg- 
etation, and  sends  up  a  thousand  forms  of  life  and 


Mi 
(I 


ii 


( 


i 


m 


Mi 


m 


I    ". 


106 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


■M 


loveliness.  Shrubs,  flowers,  and  foliage  cover  and 
almost  encumber  the  ground,  which,  clad  in  ver- 
dure, and  breathed  upon  by  the  wind,  seems  a 
rippling  sea  of  greenness.  Vines  and  ivy  climb 
the  tall  trees,  twine  their  tendril-fingers  around  the 
twigs  and  branches,  and  meet  and  mingle  their 
leaves  together  :  — beauty  embracing  strength,  — 
weakness  cherished  by  vigour.  The  humble  moss 
freshens  and  fattens  on  the  logs,  roots,  and  even 
rocks  ;  interlaces  and  extends  its  tiny  fibres  ;  and 
derives  health  and  nourishment  from  the  pure  air, 
and  the  sweet  spray  of  Niagara.  Bushes,  and 
even  large  trees,  stoop  to  look  over  the  banks  and 
down  upon  the  stream  ;  and  the  more  lowly  plants 
creep  between  them  to  the  verge,  and  hang  over 
the  abyss,  seemingly  to  enjoy  the  same  splendid 
prospect.  The  trees,  and  the  air  too,  are  populous 
with  animal  and  insect  life.  Birds,  squirrels,  but- 
terflies, bees,  grasshoppers, — ^^ these,  and  many 
other  beautiful  but  harmless  creatures,  fill  the  air 
with  their  glad  rejoicings,  and  wanton  among  the 
leaves  and  flowers.  There  is  everything  to  inter- 
est, amuse,  and  delight ;  but  nothing  to  vex,  an- 
noy, or  alarm  ;  and  such  is  summer  at  Niagara. 

In  autumn,  the  scene  is  changed  indeed,  and 
addresses  itself  to  the  eye  and  the  understanding, 
rather  than  to  the  heart  and  the  affections.     The 


il 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


107 


scenery  is  indescribably  beautiful,  variegated  with 
every  imaginable  shade  of  colouring  ;  and,  like 
the  death-bed  of  a  christian,  seems  designed  to 
banish  the  fear  of  dissolution,  by  showing  that 
the  end  of  life  may  be  even  better  than  the  begin- 
ning or  the  fullness,  invested  as  it  is  with  such  a 
surpassing  glory.  The  exceeding  richness  of 
forest  scenery  in  a  North  American  autumn,  has 
been  often  said  and  sung  ;  and  the  effect  of  that 
season  upon  Niagara  bids  defiance  to  the  tongue 
or  pen.  Suffice  then  to  say,  that  new  and  grand 
combinations  of  beauty  are  there  displayed,  which 
charm  the  eye,  chain  the  attention,  and  fasten 
upon  the  mind  ;  and  which  will  remain  fixed  in 
the  memory  long  after  the  lapse  of  years  has  eras- 
ed many  and  later  impressions  of  other  and  differ- 
ent objects.  Niagara  in  autumn,  is  a  grand  sub- 
ject for  a  great  painter  ;  but,  unfortunately,  — 
beyond  his  art ! 

In  winter,  how  different  still,  and,  O,  how  mag- 
nificent 1  The  grass  is  turned  to  pearl,  the  forest 
to  coral,  and  the  foliage  to  chrystal,  by  the  falling 
and  freezing  spray.  Rocks  of  glass,  columns  of 
alabaster,  trees  of  coral,  and  the  rainbows  resting 
upon  the  chrystal  branches,  and  nestling  among 
the  diamond  twigs  and  tendrils  !  A  writer  upon 
the  Falls,  long  a  resident  there,  and  famiUar  with 


i 


i^^ 


.li'  M 


108 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


<     I 


1  11 


r  ii 


!    h 


?i  ' 


V.    I  IM 


the  scenery  nt  all  seasons,  well  observes,  that  it 
is  **  worth  a  journey  of  thousands  of  miles"  to 
obtain  a  sight  of  Niagara  in  winter.  Groves  of 
spar  bending  beneath  a  weight  of  brilliants,  in  all 
the  blazonry  of  splendor,  allure  and  dazzle  the 
eye  ;  and,  stirred  by  the  wind,  rain  down  upon 
the  alabaster  earth  showers  of  emerald,  amethyst, 
topaz,  and  other  precious  stones,  glistening  in  the 
sunlight,  and  still  shining  where  they  fall. 

The  stream,  a  sporting  sea  of  silver,  springs 
in  bright-sparkling  fleecy  masses,  down  a  por- 
celain precipice,  and  falling  upon  rocks  of  trans- 
lucent chalcedony,  carved  into  strange  and  curious 
shapes,  covered  with  ingenious  and  quaint  devi- 
ces, and  fringed  around  with  pointed  pendants 
of  chrystal,  dashes  glittering  up,  filling  the  air 
with  starry,  lustrous,  rainbow-wreaths  of  beauty. 
Chrystalline  stalactites  of  enormous  size  and  im- 
measurable length,  overlaying  and  clustering 
round  each  other  in  many  a  fanciful  and  fantastic 
shape,  forming  colonnades,  pilastres,  capitals,  and 
cornices,  ornamented  and  enriched  by  a  beautiful 
fretwork  of  glassy  texture  and  delicate  tracery  — 
hang  down  the  banks  and  mock  the  sun  with  their 
lustre,  making  of  the  chasm  and  cataract,  a 
glorious  and  gorgeous  temple  and  altar  of  the 
Eternal,  from  which  a  snowy  incense  rolls  up  in 


\ 


\ 


TO   NIAGARA    FALLS. 


109 


I 


graceful  convolutions,  cloud-likf,  to  Heavon  !  It 
is  indeed,  a  fairy  scene  : — but  like  the  heartless 
splendor  of  courts  —  chilling  !  A  fairy  scene  in- 
deed, for  it  is  not  real  :  — a  cloud  passing  over  the 
sun  will  destroy  all  its  blazonry,  and  leave  only 
—  ICE  !  Still  it  is  inimitably  beautiful,  and  worth 
a  pilgrimage  to  witness,  if  only  for  a  moment. 

Below  the  cataract,  the  spray  congealing  as  it 
falls,  and  constantly  accreting,  forms  mountains 
of  ice  that  nearly  overtop  the  precipice,  and  seem 
like  vast  columns  of  transparent  sun-briglit  chrys- 
tal,  supporting  the  silvery  sheet,  and  lending  it  a 
thousand  hues.  The  river  never  freezes  over,  but 
large  masses  of  ice  are  sometimes  collected  and 
blocked  in,  so  as  to  form  a  natural  bridge,  extend- 
ing nearly  up  to  the  foot  of  the  Falls,  and  for  two 
miles  down  the  stream.*  Magnificent  views  of  the 
cataract  are  then  obtained  from  this  frozen  plat- 
form, and  splendors  surpassing  those  of  the  Polar 


rui 

?ir 
a 


*  A  bridge  of  this  kind  was  formed  below  the  Falls  during 
the  past  winter,  of  uncommon  dimensions.  The  ice  was  not 
less  than  one  hundred  feet  thick,  and  rose  above  the  water 
from  thirty  to  forty  feet.  People  crossed  on  it  for  some  days, 
from  the  foot  of  the  Biddle  Stair-case  to  the  Canada  side.  At 
the  ferry  the  river  was  thus  passable  for  several  months  •,  and 
a  small  house  was  built  near  the  centre  for  the  sale  of  liquors 
and  other  refreshments. 


no 


1'  I C  T  O  11 1  A  L    GUIDE 


Seas  are  beheld.  Such  is  Niagara  in  winter,  only 
the  half  is  not,  and  could  not  be  told. 

One  might  almost  fancy  that  Niagara  was  de- 
signedly placed  by  the  Creator  in  the  temperate 
zone,  that  it  might  not  always  wear  the  same 
livery  of  loveliness,  but  that  the  peculiar  excel- 
lences of  each  of  the  three  great  regions  of  the 
earth,  might  in  turn  enrich,  beautify,  and  adorn 
this  favoured  and  glorious  work  of  his  power. 
That  in  summer  it  might  have  the  warmth,  bril- 
liancy, and  luxuriance  of  the  tropics  ;  in  autumn 
the  strong  contrasts,  vivid  hues,  and  varying  dyes 
of  the  middle  region  ;  and  in  winter  the  icy  splen- 
dor, chrystalline  magnificence,  and  starry  lustre 
of  the  frozen  zone.  All  that  is  rich,  all  that 
is  striking,  all  that  is  gorgeous  in  nature,  thus 
centres  in  one  holy  spot,  beautifying  sublimity, 
adorning  immensity,  and  making  the  awful  attrac- 
tive. Men  come  from  all  the  ends  of  the  earth  to 
see  Niagara,  and  well  they  may  ! 

Having  thus  briefly  glanced  over  the  principal 
features  of  the  cataract,  and  of  the  scenery  that 
surrounds  it,  we  come  next  to  perform  our  office 
of  "guide,"  and  point  out  the  diflferent  localities 
and  objects  that  ought  to  be  visited  and  observed, 
and  in  their  proper  order  of  succession. 


TO    NI  AG  All  A    TALLS. 


i 


I 


111 


CH  A  PTER    II. 

pnEMMINARY  RKMARKS —  niRKCTIONS  —  I'ROSPHf  T  POINT  — 
VIKW  ON  TANA  DA  SIltK — Mi:\N  S  ON  TIIK  AMKRlfAN  SIDK  — 
I'ROSI'Kf'T  IT.ACI-:  —  AMERICAN  FAf.l,  —  WAUK's  OIISKRVATO- 
RY — DR1I>«K  TO  BATH  ISLAND  —  TOM,  IIOf.SK — MR.  .lAC'nBS 
—  MASTODON  Tdorn  — SMll'  AND  HIU<»  ISLANDS  —  I.OVKR'S 
RETREAT — I'OI'l'INO  THE  QUESTION. 

*' I  saw  its  wafpjs  p|iin':jo  to  yawiiiiiff  caves, 
Where  daiucd  tlio  llualiiij;  Iri.s  on  tlieir  waves  ; 
Tl>en,  fnrtlior  utF,  on  the  j^jreen  iuu:).s(iivi(Iu 
In  streaiiil('f!i  foaininj,'  still,  the  sheeted  tide, 
Shroudinjr  tlic  llnwery  sod  witli  network  frail, 
Spread  and  contract  by  turns  its  wavirifj  veil. 
And  filling  all  the  plado  with  voice  and  spray, 
Sweep  in  its  fides  oFcpiivering  li;.'ht  away! 
I  saw  them  mount,  and  roll,  and  downward  plide. 
And  loved  to  drcaii  bewildered  by  their  side!" 

E  WILL  suppose  that  the  traveller 
1ms  reached  the  village  of  Niagara 
falls,  selected  his  temporary  home, 
secured  his  room,  attended  to  the 
safe  dcposite  of  his  luggage  ;  and  is 
now  anxious  and  impatient  to  visit  the  grand  cata- 
ract, and  see  the  wonderful  scenes,  about  which 
so  much  has  been  said  and  written,  but  which  he 
is  now,  for  the  first  time,  about  to  behold.  Is  it 
so,  reader  ?  — Well,  we  are  ready  to  conduct  you. 
On  leaving  your  hotel,  turn  to  the  left,  and  con- 


it  t 


?i     i.i 


«■ 


n 


•m 


s 


i 


112 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


tinue  down  Main-street,  till,  passing  the  massive 
foundation  of  the  Niagara  Falls  Hotel,  and  turn- 
ing around  it  to  the  left,  the  depot  of  the  Buffalo 
and  Niagara  Falls  Rail-Road  is  before  you.  Pro- 
ceed directly  on  by  the  depot,  and  diagonally 
through  the  grove  of  trees  beyond  it,  inclining  to 
the  right,  and  keeping  along  the  brow  of  the 
upper  bank  or  ridge,  to  the  river.  Having  reach- 
ed this  spot,  you  are  now  at  Prospect  Point,  and 
the  object  of  your  eager  curiosity  is  at  hand. 

You  stand  upon  the  brow  of  the  precipice,  and 
the  cataract  is  before  you.  Heavens,  what  a 
scene  !  The  river  rolls  by  in  the  sunlight  like  a 
ruffled  sea  of  silver,  two  hundred  feet  beneath  the 
cliff  from  which  you  look  down,  bounded  on 
either  side  by  huge  frowning  walls  of  limestone, 
crested  by  smiling  villages,  fair  fields,  and  clus- 
tering forest  trees,  stretching  away  in  the  dis- 
tance. The  agitated  and  heaving  abyss,  the  clouds 
of  rising  spray,  the  flashing  snowy  sheets  hang- 
ing between  sea  and  sky,  the  dark  cliffs  and 
islands  that  bound  and  divide  them,  the  ocean  of 
tumbling  waters  that  seem  sporting  above  and  be- 
yond the  precipice,  and  come  dancing  over  the 
cataract  to  the  music  of  its  everlasting  roar,  toge- 
ther form  a  scene,  compared  to  which  the  ruins 
of  Balbec  or  Palmyra,  the  Pyramids  of  Egypt,  or 


I 


IL 


H 


m 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


113 


the  temples  of  Greece  and  Rome,  are  but  the  toys 
and  foot-balls  of  time. 

The  best  view  of  the  Falls,  on  the  American 
side,  is  from  this  point.  Table  Rock,  the  Horse- 
shoe Fall,  Iris  Island,  the  Central  Fall,  the  Amer- 
ican Fall,  the  rapids  and  islands  above,  and  the 
abyss  and  river  below,  are  all  within  sight ;  but 
of  the  Horse-shoe  Fall  the  view  is  distant  and  par- 
tial. In  fact,  there  is  no  complete  view  of  the 
cataract  on  the  American  side.  From  the  oppo- 
site shore  only,  can  Niagara  be  seen,  in  all  its 
parts,  and  in  all  its  sublime  majesty,  at  a  single 
glance.  But  that  one  view,  grand  and  over- 
whelming as  it  confessedly  is,  is  almost  the  only 
one  on  the  Canada  shore.  There  are,  it  is  true, 
many  modifications  of  it,  dependant  upon  the 
points  from  which  it  is  observed  ;  but  it  is  still 
the  same  in  all  its  leading  features,  and  has  a 
strange  oneness  about  it,  that  awes  even  more 
than  it  interests.  The  eye  and  the  mind,  pained 
by  its  transcendant  vastness  and  sublimity,  can 
scarcely  dwell  long  upon  it,  without  some  interval 
of  repose. 

On  the  American  side,  on  the  contrary,  while 
there  is  no  one  view  of  the  cataract  so  grand  and 
perfect,  there  are  many  of  different  parts,  each 
exceedingly  beautiful  and  impressive  ;  and   such 

H 


I!: 


III 


u 


114 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


I    . 


a  variety  of  river  and  forest  scenery,  that  the 
attention  is  diverted  from  one  object  to  another,  — 
something  new  and  fresh  is  presented  at  every 
turn,  the  eye  is  delighted,  and  the  mind  excited 
by  a  constant  succession  of  pleasing  and  august 
appearances,  —  and  thus  a  delicious  interest  is 
kept  up,  which  seems  to  wile  away  the  hours ; 
and  while  lovely  and  striking  images  are  fast 
crowding  upon  the  eye  and  mind,  they  are  both, 
as  it  were,  refreshed  and  renovated  by  novelty 
and  change. 

From  Prospect  Point,  having  looked  at  the  glo- 
rious scene  as  long  as  you  choose,  advance  to  the 
very  brink  of  the  cataract,  at  Prospect  Place. 
Here,  standing  on  a  projecting  crag,  and  holding 
by  the  dwarf  cedars  that  fringe  it,  you  can  look 
directly  down  at  the  awful  depth,  the  huge  blocks 
of  stone,  the  rock-dashed  spray  and  foam,  the 
shivering  sheet,  and  the  heaving  abyss,  and  up  at 
the  Falls,  and  particularly  the  American  cascade, 
of  which  you  have  a  capital  view,  though  not 
the   best. 

The  American  Fall  is  characterized  by  an  irreg- 
ularity that  gives  it  a  wild  and  singular  beauty. 
The  outline  is  far  projecting  and  deeply  indented, 
yet  with  no  very  abrupt  transitions,  and  certainly 
no  monotonous  parallels.    The  water  flows  over  it 


I  I 


ted, 
nly 
r  it 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


115 


in  a  broad  billowy  stream,  and  is  thrown  out  by 
craggy  points  in  a  hundred  places,  so  that  it  passes 
down  in  a  glorious  snow-white  drapery,  wreath- 
ing into  graceful  fleecy  folds,  and  possessing  so 
much  variety  with  so  complete  a  unity,  that  it  not 
only  awes  but  delights,  and  you  almost  forget  its 
immensity  in  the  contemplation  of  its  beauty. 
Near  the  sliore,  where  the  water  is  shallow,  the 
stream  ripples  along  pure  and  clear  as  chrystal, 
and  falls  from  the  brink  in  a  shower  of  sparkling 
brilliancy.  Large  rocks  lay  piled  up  at  the  foot 
of  the  precipice,  where  it  is  evident  they  have 
fallen  from  the  dizzy  height,  and  the  descending 
torrent  dashing  against  them,  flashes  up  in  foam 
and  spray.  The  river  below  rolls  away  to  the 
right,  like  an  emerald  sea  caressing  the  sun- 
beams, till  it  is  lost  to  the  view  in  its  deep  and 
devious  course  ;  and  the  bold  bank  rises  oppo- 
site, black,  ragged,  and  impending,  with  the  Clif- 
ton House  sitting  in  swan-like  whiteness  on  its 
fearful  summit,  like  Hesper  on  the  gloomy  brow 
of  night. 

Mr.  Ware,  a  very  clever  and  intelligent  man, 
has  an  observatory  on  the  ferry  house,  scarce  a 
dozen  steps  from  Prospect  Place,  where  you  have 
a  fine  view  of  the  same  scenes,  from  a  more  eleva- 
ted position.     He  has  also  canes,   refreslunents, 


'C'  II 


116 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


and  many  other  articles  for  sale,  and  is  entitled  to 
a  generous  share  of  patronage. 

Having  looked  at  the  Falls  as  long  as  you  de- 
sire, from  these  places,  pass  up  the  river  along  its 
shore,  feasting  your  eyes  upon  the  wild  waters, 
and  the  splendid  scenery  of  banks  and  islands, 
till  you  reach  the  bridge  leading  from  the  Ameri- 
can shore  to  Bath  Island  —  from  which  you  have 
a  magnificent  view  of  the  rapids,  dashing  and 
foaming  beneath  and  around  you.  The  water 
drives  along  with  such  immense  velocity  and 
force,  that  one  can  scarcely  conceive  how  this 
bridge  could  have  been  built.  Only  sixty-four 
rods  above  the  cataract,  and  in  the  very  rush 
and  whirl  of  the  mad  torrent,  it  is  no  wonder 
that  strangers  inquire  with  an  eager  curiosity 
how  it  was  possible  to  construct  it  in  so  danger- 
ous and  difficult  a  place.  The  modus  operandi 
was  this :  — 

An  abutment  of  proper  size  and  solidity  was 
first  made  ;  then  two  large  and  long  timbers  were 
projected  far  over  it,  the  hinder  ends  of  which 
were  firmly  secured  by  piling  on  tons  of  weight. 
Upon  these  timbers  planks  were  then  laid,  and  a 
temporary  bridge  thus  formed,  from  the  extremity 
of  which  large  stones  were  let  down  into  the 
stream,  till  the  pile  rose  above  the  water,  when  a 


o 


a 


Jl  I  • 


'I  ■ 


\  i 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


117 


firm  pier  was  built  around  it,  by  framing  timbers 
together,  sinking  them,  and  filling  up  with  stone. 
This  pier  and  the  abutment  were  then  joined  by  a 
section  of  the  permanent  bridge,  firmly  and  strong- 
ly built.  The  long  timbers  were  then  again  thrust 
forward,  and  a  second  pier  made,  and  united  to 
the  first,  by  another  section  of  the  bridge.  Pro- 
ceeding in  this  manner  from  pier  to  pier,  the 
whole  bridge  was  finally  constructed,  and  a  safe 
and  easy  communication  established  to  Bath  Island. 
By  the  same  process,  Bath  Island  was  connected 
with  Iris  Island,  by  a  similar  bridge,  and  the  ob- 
ject accomplished  —  Iris  Island  being  now  united 
to  the  main  land,  and  rendered  accessible  to  all. 

The  first  bridge  to  Iris  Island  was  built  by  Gen- 
eral Whitney,  in  1817.  It  was  some  distance 
farther  up  the  stream,  and  was  carried  away  by 
the  ice,  in  the  spring  of  the  following  year.  The 
present  one  was  erected  the  ensuing  summer,  by 
the  brothers  Porter,  who  are  entitled  to  great  cred- 
it for  their  enterprise  and  ingenuity  in  designing 
and  executing  a  work  of  such  magnitude  and 
utility.  The  whole  extent  of  bridge  is  forty-four 
rods,  —  twenty-eight  rods  to  Bath  Island,  and 
thence  sixteen  rods  to  Iris  Island,  —  the  cost  about 
sixteen  hundred  dollars.  In  1839  the  whole  bridge 
was  thoroughly   examined  and  repaired,  and  is 


•  >  i," 


118 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


now  in  a  most  secure,  substantial,    and   perfect 
condition. 

At  Bath  Island  register  your  name,  and  pay  the 
toll,  twenty-five  cents,  which  will  give  you  a  right 
to  pass  and  repass  as  often  as  you  choose  during 
the  year,  without  further  charge.  The  toll-house 
is  kept  by  the  worthy  and  accommodating  Mr. 
Jacobs,  who  has  collected  quite  a  little  museum  of 
curiosities  of  different  kinds,  and  will  be  happy  to 
dispose  of  canes,  specimens,  bead-work,  etc.  of 
which,  with  refreshments,  he  keeps  a  large  assort- 
ment for  sale. 

Among  the  curiosities  to  be  seen  here,  is  a  molar 
tooth  of  the  mastodon,  which  was  found  near  the 
rail-road  depot,  thirteen  and  a  half  feet  below  the 
surface  of  the  earth.  It  is  in  good  preservation  — 
the  enamel  nearly  perfect  —  and  but  little  worn. 
How  it  came  in  the  place  where  it  was  discover- 
ed, is  a  mystery.  It  must  have  been  there  many 
ages,  as  evinced  by  the  depth  from  which  it  was 
exhumed,  and  the  firm  texture  of  the  strata  in 
which  it  was  embedded.  The  huge  animal  to 
whom  it  once  belonged,  was  doubtless  young, 
and  probably  died  while  on  a  visit  to  the  cata- 
ract ;  — but  this  is  mere  speculation.  We  do  not 
know  that  any  similar  fossil  remains,  have  ever 
before  been  found  in  this  vicinity. 


'-V- 


TO   NIAGARA    FALLS. 


119 


Ship  and  Brig  Islands,  —  so  called,  because 
their  shape,  and  the  inclination  of  several  trees, 
gave  them  a  fancied  resemblance  to  such  vessels, 
— lie  just  above  Bath  Island,  with  which  the  former 
is  connected  by  a  foot-bridge,  which  though  slight, 
and  seemingly  frail,  is  perfectly  safe.  A  gate  ad- 
joining the  toll-house,  opens  upon  the  path  leading 
directly  to  it. 

These  beautiful  islands  are  among  the  most 
lovely  retreats  of  earth.  Sleeping  quietly  in  the 
midst  of  the  wild  mad  rapids,  of  which  they 
command  most  excellent  views  ;  covered  with  a 
luxuriant  forest  growth  of  vines  and  trees,  form- 
ing delightful  arbours,  carpeted  with  grass,  moss, 
and  flowers,  canopied  by  the  thickly  clustering 
foliage,  and  provided  with  comfortable,  though 
rustic  seats,  they  seem  sacred  to  innocence,  affec- 
tion, and  friendship  ; — like  the  love-spots  of  life, 
looking  rapturously  through  a  sea  of  care  and 
trouble.  Pity  that  the  bridge  uniting  these  two 
sweet  little  islands,  was  destroyed,  — it  should  be 
rebuilt  without  delay. 

Ship  Island  has  sometimes  been  called  the 
"  Lover's  Retreat,"  and  certainly  a  more  appro- 
priate name  could  scarcely  be  found,  in  the  whole 
catalogue  of  cognomens,  as  any  one  will  confess 
who  pays  a  visit  to  its  endearing  seclusions.     Of 


■I ' 


It 


120 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


all  places  in  the  world,  it  seems  the  best  for  that 
delicate  and  difficult  task  —  **  popping  the  ques- 
tion,"—  for  a  lady  could  hardly  say  "no  "with 
the  rapids  rolling  and  roaring  around  her,  and  the 
very  genius  of  the  place  seeming  to  whisper  **  it 
is  not  good  to  be  alone."  But  the  reader  is  per- 
chance no  lover,  and  as  he  is  impatient,  we  hasten 
on  to  Iris  Island. 


TO   NIAGARA    FALLS.  121 


CHAPTER    III. 

IRIS     ISLAND — NAMES,  INITIALS    AND    DATES    ON    THE   TREES 

—  THE  HOO'S  BACK  —  CENTRAL  FALL — I'ROSl'ECT  ISLAND  — 
VIEW  OF  THE  AMERICAN  FALL — OTHER  ISLANDS —  PROFILES 
ON    THE    ROCK  — RAINBOW  —  TERRaI'IN  BRIDOE  AND  RUCKS 

—  HORSE-SHOE  FALL —  PROSPECT  TOWER. 

"  Bright  Isle  !  to  the  waves   that  are  dashing  around, 
To  the  mad-leaping  torrents  that  wildly  resound. 
Thy  fame  and  thy  beauty,  thy  costume  and  crown, 
Thy  gem-spangled  robe,  and  thy  name  of  renown, 
Thou  dost  owe  —  and  the  glory  that  hallows  thy  form, 
Thus  born  of  the  rock,  wave,  and  air  battlc-storni, 
Exalts  thee  above  all  the  isles  of  the  sea, 
By  the  terrible  splendors  reflected  on  thee ; 
Yet  the  grandeur  it  gives  is  allied  to  decay, 
And  'tis  gnawing  thy  life  with  its  foam-teeth  away." 

RIS  ISLAND,  commencing  at 
the  head  of  the  rapids,  extends  to 
the  precipice,  of  which,  as  before 
stated,  it  forms  a  part.  It  is  about 
half  a  mile  in  length,  eighty  rods 
wide,  and  contains  over  sixty  acres  of  arable  land. 
It  is  sometimes  called  "  Goat  Island,"  and  obtain- 
ed that  appellation  from  the  following  circum- 
stance. A  Mr.  Steadman,  then  resident  at  Schlos- 
ser,  in  1770  placed  a  variety  of  animals  upon  it, 
and  among  others  a  number  of  goats.  Of  these, 
a  bearded  patriarch  was  the  only  one  who  survived 


I  I 


122 


PICTORIAL    GUIDi: 


the  severity  of  winter,  and  he  remained  for  a 
long  time  its  sole  occupant.  Its  more  appropriate 
name  of  **  Iris  Island"  is  derived  from  the  beauti- 
ful rainbows  always  to  be  seen  from  it  in  sunny 
weather.  A  portion  of  the  Island  has  been  clear- 
ed off,  and  a  garden  enclosed,  in  which  there  are 
some  excellent  fruit  trees,  a  variety  of  plants  and 
flowers,  and  a  fish  pond.  The  major  jiart  is  still, 
however,  covered  with  a  fine  forest  growtli,  which 
is  held  sacred  from  the  stroke  of  the  spoiler  —  and 
through  the  dense  foliage  of  which,  the  rays  of  the 
sun  find  it  in  many  places,  almost  impossible  to 
penetrate.  It  is  cool,  shady,  and  pleasant  ;  and 
is  the  object  of  unceasing  admiration.  Comfort- 
able seats  are  placed  at  the  most  important  points, 
where  the  visiter  can  sit  at  ease,  and  luxuriate  in 
the  beautiful  and  sublime  scenes  presented  to  his- 
view. 

The  trunks,  and  even  high  branches  of  the 
trees,  are  covered  with  names,  initials,  and  dates  ; 
some  fresh  to  appearance,  and  others  almost  ob- 
literated by  time,  decay,  and  the  growing  bark. 
Most  persons  desire  to  leave  some  memorial  of 
their  visit,  as  a  souvenance  to  others,  in  return 
perhaps,  for  the  pleasure  they  have  derived  from 
a  like  remembrance. 

The  earliest  date  to  any  name  yet  found  upon  the 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


123 


trees,  which  may  be  considered  authentic,  is  paid 
I'j  be  17G9.  There  are  some  professedly  earlier, 
but  they  are  supposed  to  have  been  dated  back  from 
an  impulse  of  puerile  vanity.  Near  the  cataract, 
on  the  American  side,  there  are  names  cliiselled 
upon  the  rocks,  bearing  date  1711,  172G,  1745,  and 
later,  which  are  believed  to  be  genuine. 


''  \ 


m 


<hz-:.^ 


,--..•■      V      . 


.|| 


;v/': 


V  I  E  \Y     FROM    II  O  a  '  S     BACK. 

Upon  leaving  the  bridge  from  Bath  Island,  turn 
to  the  right,  and  pass  along  the  bank  of  Iris 
Island  to  the  Hog's  Back,  —  a  narrow  ridge  so 
named  from  its  shape  —  at  its  lowest  extremity. 


ii'i* 


».) 


% 


^CTORIAL   GUIDE 

'he  picturesque™  eeTerv?.'      I  "'"  '"^'°^'  ""d 

-hite  spot  like  a  speck  of  f"""  '°"  "^  ^  ^o" 
•"eneementof  the  Wh  loci  r'V  "  ''  **  ^°'»- 
«wo  miles  distant  '^       "P"'''  ""''  "  "early 

ofirSrr'itirt^^'^^''™^"-'- 

American  branch  1  whid::!''-  '^'^"^  ^^^  *« 
"Wandsparklin'v  „,^„f/f '""  ''^"'  ^'^"■ 
"  bounds  away.Vke  a  j  ;  P''''""^'  ^''«^- 
"■ing,  in  a  smooth  a„d  a  °""  '""^  '"^"'^^^ 
Y°»  gaze  upon  it  wi.rdelf  r  T"""^'"  *««'• 
'he  verge  of  the  T  1  1^'''  ''"?  "--"ding  ,« 

«nd   your  nerves  ZZVaJT  """'  '^  «^'«''' 
and  «nowy  column  mClT/mVl'  '''■''''' 
"1  »lie  mists  that  curl  „n  e        .'        "  'o^es  itself 
hind  this  cascade,  a^d  Z!°V''  '""•    ^« '«  "- 
^on  stand,  that  .Le  Cave  o7  <?:  w^V"*'"  ""'-'' 
an  account  will  be  pri  emlv""*''  "^''^''^^ 
The  Central  Fall_ca  led    ^  f"""'  ''  ^"""ed. 
Crescent  Fall.-J^  abol,  ,     "  ^"""  "^^'>''P«.  'he 
and   .he  descent  i    grea  '.7"'''  ^"''^  '»  ^'^th, 
of  'he  cataract.        ^        '  *''^"  «  «ny  other  part 

'STreire^eT'S''.^^'-^'-^^-- 


tered 


il 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


125 


and 


eagles  were  wont  to  build  their  nests,  ere  the  foot 
of  man  had  profaned  its  holiness.  A  commodious 
bridge  conducts  you  to  this  pretty  little  island, 
where  the  American  Fall  is  seen  to  better  advan- 
tage than  from  any  other  elevated  point.  The 
view  is  indeed  magnificent.  The  broad  stream 
plunges  down  the  precipice  at  your  very  feet,  and 
the  mighty  cascade  in  all  its  majesty  and  glory 
stretches  out  before  you.  See  its  varied  outline, 
its  leaping  voluted  columns,  in  colour  white  as  an 
angel's  robe ;  its  whole  snowy  front  flashing 
down,  and  hiding,  as  if  too  bright  and  pure  for 
earth,  in  the  foam  and  spray  of  the  abyss  beneath. 
You  will  not  soon  forget  the  grandeur  and  beauty 
of  that  scene. 

There  are  several  other  islands  near,  which 
might  easily  be  rendered  accessible,  and  which 
the  pilgrim  of  curiosity  would  be  delighted  to 
visit.  But  now  he  can  only  admire  them  at  a 
distance,  and  retrace  his  steps  to  Iris  Island. 

From  the  Hog's  Back,  a  singular  phenomenon 
is  presented  to  view.  It  is  that  of  three  profile 
figures  of  the  human  face,  upon  the  rock  under 
the  edge  of  the  American  Fall,  so  fully  and  clear- 
ly defined,  that  one  can  scarcely  believe  them  to  be 
the  work  of  chance,  and  not  of  the  sculptor's  art. 
They  are  of  gigantic   size,  but  well-proportioned. 


1 


I 


'■  l 


126 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


#.;;■ 


THE     THREE    PROFILES. 


and  are  situated  as  shown  in  the  engraving  above. 
The  first,  or  upper  one  represents  a  negro  ;  the 


■ 


e. 
tie 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


127 


next,  a  young  and  well-favoured  man,  of  the 
European  race,  and  the  lowest,  an  elderly  and 
spectacled  personage  of  the  same  descent.  They 
appear  to  be  of  the  male  sex,  and  the  features  of 
each  are  singularly  well  defined.  They  were  first 
observed  last  season,  and  are  now  regarded  with 
no  little  interest.  This  strange  trio  certainly  ex- 
hibit a  very  remarkable  coincidence  of  casualties. 
Having  concluded  your  observation  of  the  views 
and  curiosities  seen  from  this  point,  pass  up  along 
the  bank  to  the  British  Fall.  If  it  is  yet  early  in 
i!  the  day,  and  the  wind  should  happen  to  be  up  the 
river,  the  beautiful  rainbow  that  smiled  upon  your 
gaze  from  the  American  Fall,  now  walks  by  your 
side,  measuring  its  march  by  your  own  pace. 
When  you  stop,  it  stops  ;  when  you  start,  it  starts 
also.  If  you  run,  it  keeps  up  with  you;  if  you 
linger,  it  waits.  Like  a  guardian  angel,  it  seems 
to  watch  your  movements,  whispering  ever  Faith, 
Hope,  Heaven  ;  and  giving  back  your  glances  of 
regard.  But  you  cannot  lure  it  far  away  from 
the  Falls; — it  seems  to  woo  your  worship  to 
God's  most  glorious  work,  and  to  melt  away  in 
despair  when  you  leave  it  behind  ;  but  when  you 
return,  it  starts  up  to  welcome  you,  and  seems  to 
delight  in  your  presence. 

Pursuing  your   way  along   the  bank  with  the 


1-  if 


f: 


h  ;:  JJ 


i(     !. 


^^  \ 

■;!i 

.:.-v 

.,■.'■■ 

►i 

.  ^M 

[fW 

^■:';t^ 

'  'i't^ 

'  ''M 

■M 

,^:fi 

•^ 

'A'^i 

_^m 

^*J  nKwin 

<  VHrmi 

''^^»m9 

iffagiM 

-  IMI 

,  j       - 

m 

i 

m 

)  ' . 


128 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


rainbow  for  a  companion,  you  have  a  noble  view 
of  the  basin,  the  Horse-shoe  Fall,  and  the  rapids 
above.  The  vastness,  the  majesty  of  this  cascade 
almost  fatigue  the  mind,  in  its  effort  to  grasp  that 
which  seems  to  defy  calculation.  You  hasten  to 
Terrapin  Bridge,*  to  the  rocks  at  its  extremity, 
and  stand,  with  the  fall,  the  thunder,  the  spray,  and 
the  abyss  at  your  feet.  And  what  are  you  ?  — 
an  atom  in  the  midst  of  immensity  ;  a  breath  of 
time  on  the  brow  of  Eternity.  How  awful  is  the 
scene  1  You  look  up,  and  a  tempest-tortured 
flood  seems  gushing  from  the  far-off  skies,  roll- 
ing over  the  distant  horizon,  and  coming  with  a 
lightning-like  speed,  and  a  whirlwind-like  roar 
down  the  steep  declivity,  and  then  leaping  at  one 
fearful  plunge  from  the  bright  world  of  the  i.pper 
air,  to  the  unimagined  depths  of  the  cloud-con- 
cealed profundity.  There  is  no  relaxation  of  the 
force,  no  depletion  of  the  volume.  Billow  urges 
billow,  torrent  presses  torrent,  column  crowds  on 
column,  and  the  vast  mass  that  has  fallen  leaves 
not  the  less  to  descend,  nor  seems  the  more  to  fill 
up  the  chasm.  The  rapids,  the  cascade,  the 
abyss,  the  foam,  the  spray,  and  the  thunder  ;  and 


*  This  bridge  was  built  by  Gen.  Whitney  in  1827.    It  needs 
repairing  sadly. 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


129 


also  the  velocity,  the  intumescence,  and  the  agi- 
tation, are  all  objects  of  separate  and  combined 
wonder  and  admiration. 

The  curve  of  the  British  Fall  has  now  lit- 
tle resemblance  to  a  horse-shoe,  but  something 
the  shape  of  a  figure  5,  — without  the  horizontal 
dash  at  the  top,  —  the  point  or  lower  extremity, 
resting  on  Table  Rock.  Near  the  Canada  shore, 
the  water  falls  in  fleecy,  snow-like  masses,  white, 
feathery,  and  shifting.  But  from  thence  to  the 
Terrapin  Rocks,  —  over  three-fourths  of  the  whole 
distance  —  it  rolls  down  in  one  deep  unbroken 
volume,  grand,  solemn,  and  appaUing.  The  im- 
mense breadth  of  this  Fall,  the  vast  quantity  of 
water  poured  down  the  precipice,  the  ocean  of 
rapids  above,  the  foaming  sea  below,  the  eternal- 
curling  clouds  of  spray,  and  the  deep  hoarse  thun- 
der pealing  ever  up,  produce  by  their  conjoined 
effect,  such  an  impression  of  power,  energy,  and 
majesty,  that  the  mind  recoils  from  its  contempla- 
tion, and  the  soul,  filled  with  awe,  bows  itself  in 
reverent  humility,  feeling  the  Omnipotent  pres- 
ence. God  is  here  made  so  manifest,  by  the 
wonderful  display  of  His  Almighty  power,  that 
disbelief  vanishes,  pride  sinks  abashed,  and  the 
conviction  of  the  heart  and  soul  is  —  How  great  is 

God  !  how  insignificant  am  I !  — He  is  omnipotent ; 
I 


}t': 


■ 

i 

i 

'■^',k 

m 

N' 


t'  i! 


Itl     : 


1   «>.''l 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


I  am  nothing  I  The  cataract  seems  a  consecrated 
place,  surrounded  and  filled  with  the  majesty,  and 
glory,  and  pov/er  of  the  Eternal ;  and  the  spot  on 
which  you  stand  sacred  to  his  service.  Fear,  awe, 
and  reverence  are  emotions  which  this  sublime 
scene  never  fails  to  inspire.  The  God  of  the  Uni- 
verse is  felt  to  be  almost  visibly  present ;  and  the 
haughtiest  of  Earth's  haughty  ones,  here  trem- 
ble and  adore. 

From  the  Prospect  Tower,  —  a  round  stone 
building,  forty-five  feet  high,  ascended  by  wind- 
ing stairs,  which  was  erected  in  1833  by  Judge 
Porter,  —  you  have  a  magnificent  view  of  the 
great  Fall,  the  chasm,  the  rapids.  Table  Rock, 
and  the  surrounding  scenery.  You  can  look 
down  into  the  very  hollow  and  midst  of  the  vast 
cascade,  and  almost  see  the  elemental  chaos, 
where  the  mist,  the  spray,  the  foam  and  thunder 
of  the  cataract  have  birth.  Majesty,  grandeur, 
sublimity,  and  beauty,  —  the  glorious  garniture  of 
God,  —  are  here  spread  out  before  you. 

When  you  have  wondered  and  admired  as  long 
as  you  choose  from  these  places,  ascend  the  bank, 
rest  a  while,  and  return  back  to  the  Biddle  Stair- 
case, which  you  passed  on  your  way  hither  from 
the  Hog's  Back. 


TO  NIAGARA  FALLS. 


131 


CH  A  PTER  IV. 

BIDDLE  STAIR-CASE— ANdUNO— SAM  PATCH  — MR.  SMITH  — 
FANCIED  DANOKR  —  BRITISH  FALL —  LOWER  FISHING-ROCK  — 
CAVE  OF  TIIK  WINnS — FOOT  OF  PROSPECT  ISLAND  —  PASSING 
UNDER  THE  AMERICAN  FALL  —  CIRCUIT  OF  THE  ISLAND — EN- 
CROACHMENT OF  THE  RIVER  —  MOSS  ISLAND — THREE  SIS- 
TERS—  HEAD  OF  IRIS  ISLAND — MOUNDS  AND  SKELETONS. 

"  What  august  scenes  salute  the  wondering  eye ! 
Floods  that  seem  gushing  through  the  unriven  sky, 
Plunge  madly  down  from  glory  into  gloom  — 
Flash  up  in  spray,  and  thunder  from  the  tomb  — 
And  with  a  far-descending  wall  of  waves, 
Bar  the  broad  stream,  and  veil  its  misty  caves ; 
While  radiant  splendors  beautify  the  fall. 
And  Echo,  answering  to  the  Cataract's  call. 
Leaps  like  a  living  thought  from  rock  to  rock- 
Shadow  of  sound,  and  daughter  of  the  shock'." 

T  WAS  long  a  desirable  but  dif- 
ficult matter  to  reach  the  sloping 
bank,  below  the  precipice,  at  the 
lower  end  of  Iris  Island,  which 
prior  to  the  year  1829,  could  only 
be  attained  by  coming  up  in  boats  from  the  ferry. 
In  the  summer  of  that  year,  a  convenient  stair- 
case was  erected,  at  an  expense  of  three  hundred 
dollars,  by  the  munificence  ot  Nicholas  Biddle, 
Esq.  the  celebrated  financier ;  by  which  a  safe 
and  speedy,  though  somewhat  tiresome  passage  is 


.) , 


m 


Ill  I 


132 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


aftbrded  to  the  various  scenes  of  interest  at  the 
foot  of  the  island,  which  are  among  the  most 
grand  and  curious  in  this  region  of  wonder. 

A  steep  declivity  of  about  forty  feet,  rendered 
practicable  by  a  rude,  but  strong  flight  of  common 
steps,  leads  down  to  the  head  of  the  Biddle  Stair- 
case —  as  it  is  very  properly  called  —  which  is  in 
the  form  of  a  hexagon,  enclosing  triangular  steps 
that  wind  spirally  around  a  large  and  solid  oak 
shaft,  resting  firmly  on  a  durable  foundation,  and 
securely  fastened  to  the  rock  at  top.  The  steps 
are  ninety  in  number,  and  the  Stair-case  about 
eighty  feet  high  —  from  its  base  to  the  river,  the 
descent  is  eighty  feet,  or  from  the  top  of  the  bank, 
one  hundred  and  eighty-five  feet.  One  of  the 
finest  places  in  the  country  for  angling,  is  at  this 
point  of  the  river,  where  many  varieties  of  fish 
are  often  caught  in  great  abundance.  It  was 
here,  that  the  celebrated  Sam  Patch  made  two 
successful  leaps  from  a  platform  ninety-seven  feet 
high,  in  the  fall  of  1829,  shortly  after  the  Stair- 
case was  completed.  This  daring,  but  unfortu- 
nate individual,  subsequently  made  two  leaps  at 
the  Genesee  Falls,  from  a  still  greater  elevation  ; 
the  ic  St  of  which,  from  a  height  of  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  feet,  proved  fatally  disastrous. 
He  was  seen  no  more. 


TO   NIAGARA    FALLS. 


133 


From  the  foot  of  the  stair-case,  well-worn  paths 
lead  up  to  the  British  Fall,  where  a  most  beautiful 
and  awe-inspiring  scene  is  witnessed  ;  and  down 
to  the  Central  Fall,  and  the  Cave  of  the  Winds, 
where  views,  if  possible,  even  more  grand  are 
beheld. 

At  the  Biddle  Stair-case,  the  visiter  is  provided 
with  a  suitable  dress  by  Mr.  Smith,  —  a  worthy 
and  well-informed  gentleman,  perfectly  familiar 
with  the  Falls,  and  both  competent  and  willing  to 
impart  any  information  that  may  be  desired  on 
the  subject — who  has  for  sale  the  usual  curiosi- 
ties, canes,  and  refreshments,  and  who,  for  a 
small  fee,  furnishes  the  traveller  with  every  thing 
necessary  to  enable  him  to  pass  behind  the  sheet, 
and  into  the  Cave  of  the  Winds.  No  change  of 
dress  is  required,  if  the  visiter  does  not  wish  to 
penetrate  the  regions  of  spray,  and  of  course  no 
charge  is  incurred.  But  these  scenes  should 
never  be  overlooked: — they  are  full  of  wonder 
and  sublimity. 

Properly  equipped,  you  descend  the  stairs,  from 
the  head  of  which  you  have  a  noble  view  of  the 
Horse-shoe  Fall ;  and  pass  up  the  stream  to  the 
grand  cascade.  This  course  is  advised,  because, 
usually,  a  person  gets  so  thoroughly  drenched  in 
the  Cave  of  the  Winds,  that  dry  clothing  is  an 


:,iti 


k- 


134 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


object  of  immediate  desire,  and  it  is  therefore  best 
to  visit  that  place  the  last,  before  a  change  of  ap- 
parel. As  you  advance  along  the  pathway  at  the 
foot  of  the   cliff,  with  the  vast  mass  of  ragged 


VIEW    FROM     BIDDLE    STAIRS. 

rocks  impending  above  your  head,  and,  appa- 
rently, threatening  instant  destruction,  it  will  be 
strange  if  you  do  not  feel  a  deep  sense  of  danger. 
Innumerable  pieces  of  stone  seem  as  if  on  the  very 
point  of  tumbling  down  ;  and  all  around  you  lie 
the  broken  fragments  that  at  different  times  have 
fallen.  But  there  is  little  fear :  —  among  the 
thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  of  persons  who 
have  sauntered  along  the  path  you  are  treading, 
not  one  has  been  injured.     Only  a  single  accident 


i! 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


135 


of  the  kiiul  is  known  ever  to  have  occurred,  and 
that  happened  near  the  Central  Fail. 

You  approach  the  foot  of  the  cataract,  and  look 
up  at  the  high  ovcr-iianging  clifl',  the  Terrapin 
Rocks,  almost  poised  upon  the  dizzy  hrink,  and 
the  far-fcilling  torrent,  that  comes  plunging  down, 
dashed  to  foam  and  spray  on  the  huge  masses  of 
lime-stone,  that  lie  heaped  around,  having  evi- 
dently heeu  torn  from  the  verge  of  the  precipice, 
far  above  you.  A  splendid,  though  but  partial 
view  of  the  British  Fall  may  be  obtained  from  the 
rocks  at  the  river-margin  below.  About  three- 
fourths  of  that  sublime  cascade,  is  then  directly 
before  you,  stretching  from  Table  Rock,  across 
the  heaving  and  foaming  sea  of  agitation,  which 
it  walls  with  a  flashing  flood,  in  its  huge  and 
gigantic  proportions.  From  the  point  just  above 
you,  the  water  falls  in  white,  fleecy,  incoherent 
columns,  like  tumbling  masses  of  fresh-formed 
snow  ;  light,  feathery,  and  fanciful  in  its  chang- 
ing shapes,  and  lovely  in  its  fleeting  descent,  as  a 
fairy  dream  of  delight.  If  the  wind  is  favourable, 
you  can  pass  some  distance  behind  the  sheet,  and 
feel  the  sublimity  of  a  scene,  that  sets  description 
at  defiance,  and  fills  the  soul  with  emotion. 

From  these  displays  of  beauty  and  wonder, 
retrace  your  steps  to  the   Riddle  Stair-case,  and, 


'ti-    t'i 


136 


PICTORIAL   GUIDE 


leaving  that  behind  you,  pass  on  to  the  Central 
Fall.  If  not  in  too  much  haste,  descend  the  elo- 
ping bank  to  the  Lower  P''ishing-Rock  —  as  a  lime- 
stone mass,  at  the  lowest  point  of  the  island-shore, 
is  called, — from  whence  the  best  view  of  the 
American  Fall  is  presented,  that  can  be  any  where 
obtained,  unless,  perhaps,  from  the  river  directly 
in  front  of  it.  The  whole  beautiful  cascade  hangs 
like  a  flashing  curtain  of  shifting  snow-wreaths 
before  you,  waving  in  fleecy  folds,  and  pillared  by 
downy  columns  of  the  softest,  clearest  white  ; 
around  and  over  all  of  which,  a  genial  glory 
seems  to  float,  bright  and  pure  as  the  hope  and 
faith  of  an  angel-choir.  The  scene  is  lovely  be- 
yond all  conception.  Nothing  on  earth  can  com- 
pare in  that  respect  with  the  American  Fall,  as 
seen  from  this  spot.  Vast  as  it  is,  you  do  not 
observe  its  size ;  lofty  as  it  is,  you  take  no  note 
of  its  height;  august  as  it  is,  you  scarcely  per- 
ceive its  grandeur; — its  surpassing  loveliness, 
and  transcendant  beauty,  alone  seem  to  engage 
your  attention.  Finally,  however,  all  these  be- 
come blended  together,  and  you  begin  to  realize 
the  majesty,  as  well  as  the  loveliness  ;  the  sublimi- 
ty, as  well  as  the  beauty  of  this  incomparable 
cascade,  and  to  feel  that  the  power  as  well  as  the 
goodness  of  the  Divine   Architect,  has  here  its 


TO   NIAGARA    FALLS. 


137 


:  i 


lasting  and  visible  impress.  Long  will  that  glo- 
rious scene  live  in  your  memory,  hallowed  by  the 
recollection  of  a  holy  rapture,  and  an  earnest 
worship. 

Reascend  the  sloping  bank  to  the  Central  Fall, 
and  the  Cave  of  tlie  Winds  is  before  you.  At  the 
entrance,  you  pause  to  look  up  at  the  projecting 
cliff,  and  the  sparkling  torrent  that  shoots  off  far 
above,  falling  far  over,  and  far  below  you  ;  and 
down  at  the  piles  of  rock  heaped  up  around,  and 
the  foam  and  spray  springing  to  light  and  loveli- 
ness from  the  rock-wave  concussion.  The  might- 
iest throes  give  birth  to  the  most  beautiful  things  ; 
and  thus  the  rainbow  was  born  of  the  deluge. 

You  are  on  the  steps  descending  into  the  cav- 
ern. The  majesty,  the  sublimity  of  the  scene 
cannot  escape  your  notice,  and  you  will  feci  what 
1  find  it  impossible  to  express.  A  wall  of  rock 
rises  frowning  on  one  side  ;  the  falling  sheet 
arches  the  other.  You  see  it  leap  from  the  cliff 
far  above,  and  lash  the  rocks  far  below.  You 
seem  between  two  eternities,  with  a  great  mys- 
tery before  you,  whose  secrets  are  about  to  be 
revealed.  What  a  moment  is  this  !  From  the 
vast  cavern  in  to  which  you  are  passing,  comes 
the  sound  of  a  thousand  storms.  You  hear  the 
mad   winds   raging    around   the   walls   of   their 


f 


S  'I     : 


t.    : 


I! 


ENTRANCE  TO  CAVE  OF  THE  WINDS. 

imprisonment,    and   mingling   their   fearful   roar 
with  the  reverberating  thunders  of  the  cataract ! 


I 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


139 


The  spray  falls  thick  around  you,  and,  almost 
overpowered  with  intense  emotion,  you  hasten  on, 
descend  the  st'^ps,  reach  the  bottom,  instinctively 
retire  from  the  rushing  waters,  and,  having  gain- 
ed the  centre  and  back  of  the  cave,  pause  to  look 
around.  You  seem  all  eyes,  all  ears,  all  soul  ! 
You  are  in  the  sublime  sanctuary  of  Nature  ;  her 
wonderful  and  fearful  mysteries  are  above,  be- 
neath, and  around  you.  God  is  Infinite,  you  arc 
nothing  !  this  is  His  temple,  you  are  His  worship- 
per !  It  is  impossible  in  such  a  place  to  be  irreve- 
rent. The  proudest,  here  is  meek  ;  the  haughtiest, 
humble  :  and  the  loftiest,  lowly.  The  sights  and 
sounds  that  crowd  upon  your  gaze,  and  fill  your 
ears,  will  be  remembered  to  the  latest  day  of  your 
life  ;  nor  will  the  emotions  that  swell  your  bosom, 
and  thrill  your  very  soul,  be  ever  forgotten. 

The  Cave  of  the  Winds  has  long  been  known, 
and  by  that  name,  than  which  none  can  be  more 
appropriate.  In  1834  it  was  first  entered  by 
Messrs.  White  and  Sims,  residents  of  the  village, 
who  landed  from  a  boat  at  the  foot  of  Prospect 
Island,  and  from  thence  effected  an  entrance, 
though  with  much  difficulty.  Since  that  time,  it 
has  been  occasionally  penetrated  by  the  same  ap- 
proach ;  b-ut  it  was  not  until  the  present  season 
that  a  safe  and  easy  passage  was  thrown  open  to 


\) 


Ml      f% 


140 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


the  traveller  ;  and  for  this  advantage  the  public  is 
indebted  to  the  liberality  and  enterprise  of  Judge 
Porter.  It  is  now  free  to  all  who  choose  to  ex- 
plore its  solemn  shades. 

This  cave  has  sometimes  been  called  "Ingra- 
ham's  Cave,"  but  the  propriety  of  that  name  is 
very  questionable  ;  and  even  were  it  not,  th,e  gen- 
tleman most  interested  in  the  subject,  **  solemnly 
protests"  against  it.  The  appellation  by  which 
it  is  generally  known,  *'Cave  of  the  Winds,"  is 
much  more  suitable,  and  this  name  it  will  beyond 
all  doubt  retain.  It  is  about  one  hundred  feet 
wide,  thirty  feet  deep,  and  over  one  hundred  and 
thirty  feet  high.  The  bottom  is  composed  of  loose 
stones  or  shale,  which  have  fallen  from  above,  and 
slopes  gradually  down  to  the  front,  where  it  ter- 
minates in  a  precipice  thirty-four  feet  high,  from 
the  water's  edge.  The  sheet  of  water  on  one 
side,  and  the  projecting  rock  on  the  other,  form  a 
natural  and  noble  arch,  combining  every  element 
of  sublimity.  The  thick  spray  rolls  along  the 
floor,  curls  up  the  arching  wall,  and  flies  across 
the  ceiling  in  ceaseless  revolutions,  keeping  the 
air  in  constant  agitation,  and  adding  the  roar  of 
many  winds  to  the  echoing  thunders  of  the  cata- 
ract. It  is  a  sublime,  an  awful  place  —  fit  temple 
of  Jehovah!      No  language    can    describe,    no 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


141 


tongue  express,  and  no  pen  record  the  solemnity, 
the  grandeur,  the  sublimity  of  the  scene,  or  the 
emotions  which  it  excites. 

Between  the  Central  and  American  Falls,  and 
at  the  foot  of  Prospect  Island,  there  is  a  narrow 
vacant  space,  bounded  and  almost  over-arched  by 
the  tumbling  torrent,  from  which  grand  viewg  are 
presented  of  these  two  cascades  —  that  of  the  lat- 
ter, is  particularly  fine.  Here  you  may  rest  your- 
self, or  ramble  over  the  huge  rocks,  in  the  pure 
air,  with  the  bright  river  and  the  blessed  sky  be- 
fore you,  and  the  dark  rock  above  ;  and  then  pass 
under  the  American  sheet  as  far  as  you  desire, 
or  dare.  It  is  a  frightful  place,  overwhelming  in 
its  gloom,  grandeur,  and  sublimity  ;  and  there  be 
few  who  have  ventured  far,  though  it  is  suppos- 
ed possible  to  pass  quite  through  and  under  the 
whole  vast  cascade.  Returning  hence,  ascend  the 
Biddle  Stair-case,  to  the  bank  above,  and  resume 
your  ordinary  dress.  Rest  yourself  here  a  short 
time,  and  then,  proceeding  up  the  river,  make  the 
circuit  of  the  Island.  Feast  your  eyes  again  as 
you  pass  the  Horse-shoe  Fall,  upon  its  wondrous 
majesty,  and  beauty ;  take  another  look,  if  you 
desire  it,  from  the  Terrapin  Rocks,  Tower,  and 
Bridge  ;  and,  re-ascending  the  bank,  continue 
your  walk  along  the  wave- washed  shore. 


¥a 


142 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


A  short  distance  above  the  cataract^,  you  will 
see  where  the  Island  has  been  much  worn  away 
by  the  action  and  encroachment  of.  the  river. 
The  road  once  passed  some  rods  to  the  right  of 
where  it  now  is,  and  has  been  cut  off,  as  you  will 
perceive,  by  the  ever-wasting  flood.  Large  trees, 
which  grew  not  long  since  upon  the  firm  earth  of 
the  Island,  lie  prostrate,  with  their  branching  tops 
in  the  doep  stream,  and  their  roots  high  upon  the 
sloping  shore.  From  the  bank,  here  you  have  a 
splendid  view  of  the  rapids,  and  will  observe  the 
mighty  torrent  rolling  down  immense  ledges, 
leaping  and  surging  up  high  in  the  air,  and  wildly 
rushing  and  tossing  about — a  mad  sea  of  com- 
motion 1 

You  will  also  observe  part  of  the  wreck  of  a 
large  vessel  lying  in  the  stream  nearly  opposite 
this  point.  It  is  all  that  is  now  left  of  the  Detroit, 
the  flag  ship  of  Capt.  Barclay,  which  with  other 
vessels,  was  captured  in  the  naval  victory  achiev- 
ed by  Commodore  Perry,  on  the  10th  of  Septem- 
ber, 1813.  It  was  brought  down  from  Buflfalo  last 
season,  to  be  sent  over  the  Falls,  but  in  passing 
the  ledge  above,  was  dismasted,  and  broken,  and, 
disappointing  the  vast  crowds  collected  to  see  it 
take  the  final  phinge  down  the  cataract,  rested  not 
far  from  where  it  now  lies.     Piece  after  piece  has 


TO   NIAGARA    FALLS. 


143 


been  torn  off  and  carried  away  by  the  impetuous 
torrent ;  and,  probably,  by  another  spring,  there 
will  not  be  a  fragment  left  of  the  noble  vessel, 
that  once  sent  its  booming  death-laden  thunders 
over  the  trembling  waves  of  Lake  Erie,  in  a  glo- 
rious strife  for  conquest  and  renown.  But  louder 
thunders  than  were  ever  its  own,  and  a  mightier 
strife  than  that  in  which  it  was  engaged,  accom- 
pany and  cause  its  destruction.  Fit  end  to  its 
war-born  existence  I 

A  few  rods  further,  and  you  come  to  a  cluster 
of  islands  situated  in  the  midst  of  the  rapids  which 
rage  above,  between,  and  around  them.  There 
are  four  of  these  Islands,  though  to  appearance, 
but  three.  The  nearest  one  is  called  Moss  Island, 
from  the  quantities  of  moss  that  completely  cover 
it,  to  a  depth  of  from  ten  to  fifteen  inches.  Be- 
tween this  and  Iris  Island,  there  is  a  beautiful  cas- 
cade —  a  cataract  in  miniature  —  which  affords 
one  of  the  finest  bathing  places  that  could  be 
wished.  The  outer  islands  are  called  the  **  Three 
Sisters,"  and  are,  as  yet,  inaccessible,  though 
they  might  be,  at  a  small  expense,  connected  with 
each  other,  and  with  Iris  Island,  and  would  be 
desirable  pla^jes  of  resort,  from  their  seclusion, 
and  the  magnificent  views  they  would  present  of 
the  rapids,  in  which  they  lie. 


if 


1 1- 


li  -  I 


I 


If  II 


144 


nCTORIAL    GUIDE 


At  the  head  of  Iris  Island,  you  see  the  broad 
river  spread  out  before  you,  like  a  shining  sea  ; 
with  Schlosser  on  the  left,  Chippewa  far  off  to  the 
right,  and  Grand,  Navy,  and  other  Islands  in  the 
dim  distance  above.  It  was  here,  and  near  the 
old  log  upon  which  you  are  probably  now  sitting, 
that  visiters  to  Iris  Island  were  landed  from  boats, 
before  the  bridge  was  built.  Such  was  then  the 
only  mode  of  reaching  it,  and  the  passage  required 
great  care,  skill,  and  exertion,  and  was  of  course 
expensive.  The  Island  was  therefore,  at  that 
time,  a  terra  incognita  to  most  persons  —  an  unat- 
tainable object  of  intense  desire.  They  could  see 
that  it  was  beautiful,  that  it  presented  grand  views 
of  the  sublime  cataract  they  had  come  from  afar 
to  behold  ;  but  alas  !  they  could  not  set  foot  upon 
its  velvet  surface,  repose  beneath  its  shady  groves, 
nor  witness  from  its  banks  the  marvellous  glories 
that  clustered  around  it,  and  in  the  midst  of  which 
it  so  sweetly  slumbered.  Happy  traveller  !  you 
can  pass  on  and  off  when  you  please,  see  all  that 
it  has  to  reveal,  and  ramble  over  and  about  it  at 
your  leisure.  Visiters  to  the  Falls  now,  enjoy  ad- 
vantages that  would  have  been  deemed  visionary 
and  impracticable  in  those  days  of  infant  or  un- 
born enterprise. 

Continuing  your  walk  around  the  Island,  you 


! 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


145 


mark  the  commencement,  progress,  and  wild  vio- 
lence of  the  American  rapids,  and  accord  them  the 
meed  of  wonder  and  praise.  At  length  you  reach 
an  old  log  house,  with  a  low  stone  addition  to 
the  rear,  now  lone,  dreary,  and  deserted.       t  was 


)ries 

lich 

I  you 

(that 

at 
lad- 
|ary 

m- 

tou 


here  that  Francis  Abbot,  the  Ht^rmit  of  the  Falls, 
for  a  long  time  resided  :  — of  this  singular  and  un- 
fortunate individual,  we  shall  elsewhere  relate  all 
that  is  certainly  known. 

On  an  elevated  sandy  part  of  the  bank,  about 
midway  of  the  garden,  there  were  formerly  a 
number  of  small  mounds,  into  which  excavations 
were  made,  some  years  since,  and  human  remains 
discovered.  They  had  been  buried  in  a  sitting 
posture,  and  each  individual  had  a  separate  grave. 
None  of  the  skeletons  were  found  perfect,  and  most 
of  the  bones  crumbled  to  dust,  on  being  exposed 
to  the  air,  or  coming  in  contact  with  the  touch. 
No  relics  of  weapons  or  ornaments  were  observed, 
and  probably  none  had  ever  been  deposited. 

K 


4. 


146 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


The  memory  of  the  age  in  which  these  people 
lived  or  perished,  has  passed  away,  and  tradition 
is  silent  concerning  their  history  or  fate.  That 
Niagara  was  held  in  a  great  degree  sacred  by  the 
Aborigines  is  certain  ;  and  that  some  of  them  be- 
lieved the  home  of  the  Great  Spirit  to  be  here,  is 
unquestioned.  Probably,  Iris  Island  was,  from 
these  circumstances,  a  consecrated  spot,  where 
great  and  good  men,  who  were  loved  and  honour- 
ed while  living,  were  permitted  to  repose  when 
dead  ;  and  where  also,  the  fair  and  innocent,  who 
were  cut  down  in  the  greenness  of  youth,  and 
the  bloom  of  beauty,  were  allowed  to  bear  them 
company.  But  this  is  mere  supposition,  for  noth- 
ing is  or  can.  be  known  of  the  persons  here  buried, 
or  the  time  of  their  interment,  except  that  it  must 
have  been  ages  ago.  This  is  proved,  by  the  con- 
dition of  the  bones,  and  the  ignorance  of  all  the 
neighbouring  Indian  tribes  upon  the  subject.  It 
is  quite  likely  that  the  remains  of  many  others  are 
still  resting  in  this  holy  burial-place,  whose  solemn 
dirge  is  sung  by  the  cataract,  and  whose  quiet 
sleep  ^'''U  be  broken  only  by  the  Archangel's 
trump,  at  the  end  of  time. 

Having  made  the  circuit  of  the  Island,  return 
to  your  hotel,  dine,  rest,  and  then  pay  a  visit  to  the 
neighbouring  dominions  of  the  British  Queen. 


TO  NIAGARA  FALLS. 


147 


CH  A  PTER  V. 

FEURY  STAIUS  —  CATLIN'S  C.WE — OIANT  CAVE — VIEW  FROM 
THE  RIVER — ROAD  I'l'  THE  BANK  —  GRAND  VIEW  OF  THE 
FALLS — VIEW  FROM  TABLE  ROCK  —  TABLE  ROCK — DISRUP- 
TIONS—  VARIED  APPEARANCE  OF  THE  FALL  —  STaRKEY'S 
ROOMS  —  STAIRCASE — VIEW  FROM  BEr.OW  —  TERMINATION 
ROCK  —  MUSEUM  —  CAM.  0B3CU.  —  IRIS  ISLAND  AT  NIOUT. 

"Not  in  the  pomp  of  temples  made  with  hands, 
Nor  where  in  pride  the  sculptured  marble  stands  — 
Where  pillared  aisles  their  laboured  lines  display, 
And  painted  casements  mock  the  imprisoned  day, 
Or  the  broad  column  swells  —  we  Avorsliip  Thee, 
Spirit  Almighty! — but  in  this  vast  shrine, 
Where  Nature  bids  her  elder  glories  shine, 
Fit  emblems  of  thine  own  eternity. 
Lonely,  and  wild,  and  vast '.  O,  is  not  here 
A  temple  meet  for  worship?" 

A  V I N  G  refreshed  yourself  by  rest 
and  food,  you  set  out  on  a  visit  to 
Canada,  to  see  the  magnificent  and 
sublime  views  of  the  Falls,  which 
that  side  alone  presents.  At  Pros- 
pect Point  again  delight  your  eyes  with  the  glo- 
rious scene  that  first  met  your  gaze,  and  then  pass 
on  to  the  Ferry  Stair-case,  which  you  descend. 
It  would  seem  almost  impossible,  without  this 
convenience,  to  get  down  the  precipice  ;  but  the 
feat  has  been  accomplished   in  several  instances, 


14    i. 


148 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


by  both  gentlemen  and  ladies.  The  passage  was, 
however,  exceedingly  diflicult  and  dangerous,  and 
the  public  is  much  indebted  to  Judge  Porter  for 
the  present  safe  and  commodious  means  of  de- 
scent. These  stairs  were  erected  by  that  gentle- 
man, in  18*25,  who  has  also  the  right  of  ferry 
below.  From  the  foot  of  the  first  or  upper  flight 
of  steps,  an  interesting  view  of  the  Falls  is  pre- 
sented, which  cannot  fail  to  exact  a  tribute  of 
admiration.  From  the  bottom  of  the  Stairs,  pass 
up  along  the  sloping  bank,  to  the  American  Fall, 
of  which  you  have  an  excellent  view  ;  and  where, 
if  the  wind  is  up  the  river,  you  may  creep  down 
the  rocks,  and  pass  some  distance  under  the  sheet, 
without  being  much  incommoded  by  the  spray. 

Two  caves  were  discovered  in  1825,  by  a  Mr. 
Catlin  of  Lockport,  one  of  which  bears  his  name, 
and  is  unique.  They  are  about  three-fourths  of  a 
mile  below  the  ferry,  at  the  base  of  the  cliff.  The 
passage  to  them  is  from  the  foot  of  the  ferry  stair- 
case, and  along  the  top  of  the  sloping  bank  at 
the  bottom  of  the  precipice  ;  and,  though  not  very 
dangerous,  is  quite  rough  and  fatiguing.  You 
can  go  by  water  with  less  exertion,  but  at  some 
expense.  The  principal  cave,  and  that  which  is 
by  far  the  most  curious,  is  a  round  hollow  in  the 
centre  of  a  large  and  nearly  spherical  rock,  formed 


J 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


140 


by  adepositc  of  calcarious  tufa,  from  the  drippings 
of  lime-water  springs,  which  gush  out  of  the  rocks 
in  several  places  at  and  near  the  cave.  The  cavi- 
ty is  about  six  feet  in  diameter,  and  may  be  enter- 
ed by  a  circular  aperture,  scarcely  large  enough 
to  admit  a  medium  sized  man  ;  —  this  opening  is 
about  four  feet  from  the  bottom  of  the  rock. 
When  first  discovered,  the  cave  was  lined  with 
stalactites,  many  of  them  very  beautiful  ;  but  they 
have  all  been  long  since  removed.  A  line  spring 
sparkles  along  the  bottom  of  the  cavity. 

The  other  cave,  sometimes  called  the  Giant 
Cave,  is  beyond,  though  near  Catlin's,  and  some 
distance  above  it  in  the  rocks  ;  by  the  disruption 
of  large  masses  of  which  it  is  supposed  to  have 
been  formed.  It  is  somewhat  diflicult  of  access, 
but  will  repay  the  toil  of  climbing.  A  large 
niche  in  the  precipice  shelters  the  entrance  to  it, 
and  a  lovely  spring  ripples  over  its  limestone 
floor.  Mineral  specimens,  some  very  fine,  may 
be  picked  up  in  the  vicinity  of  these  caves,  and 
among  others,  moss  in  every  stage  of  petrifaction, 
which  presents  an  extremely  curious  and  interest- 
ing appearance,  even  to  the  unlearned  in  the 
science  of  stones  and  fossils.  A  visit  to  these 
caves,  will  amply  reward  the  trouble  of  getting 
to  them ;  but  they  should  not  be  examined  to  the 


4 


I.''>'l 


150 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


exclusion  of  any  view  of  the  cataract,  or  of  other 
and  more  remarkable  scenes  and  objects  hereafter 
to  be  noted,  as  they  are  of  comparatively  small 
importance.  They  are  mentioned  in  this  connec- 
tion, because  the  route  to  them  commences  from 
the  ferry  stairs  ;  and  now,  whenever  you  choose  to 
go  and  see  them,  you  will  know  whence  to  start, 
and  what  direction  to  pursue. 

Returning  from  the  American  Fall  to  the  Stairs, 
and  winding  down  the  sloping  bank,  you  are  soon 
at  the  Landing.  The  ferry  on  this  side  is  kept  by 
Mr.  S.  L.  Ware,  who  takes  every  pains  to  oblige 
and  accommodate  visiters,  and  whose  observatory 
at  the  head  of  the  stairs,  we  have  before  had  occa- 
sion to  notice.  The  boats  used  for  ferriage  are 
large,  staunch,  and  commodious,  and  are  propelled 
by  the  sinewy  arms  of  a  single  person.  Not  the 
slightest  danger  is  to  be  apprehended,  and  the  pas- 
sage is  efTectcd  in  from  four  to  seven  minutes, — 
the  distance  across  being  seventy-six  rods.  The 
charge  is  reasonable  :  only  eighteen  and  three- 
fourths  cents  from  May  to  November,  or  twenty- 
five  cents  from  November  to  May. 

Taking  your  seat  in  the  stern  of  the  boat,  the 
ferry-man  pushes  off,  and  you  are  afloat  on  the 
bosom  of  the  abyss.  The  eddies  curl  around  you, 
and  the  currents  are  swift;   but  the  strong  limbs 


'm*'* 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


151 


of  the  sturdy  rower  force  the  bark  along  with 
rapidity,  and  almost  before  you  are  aware  of  it, 
you  find  yourself  in  the  middle  of  the  stream,  and 
the  bout  riding  gracefully  over  the  heavy  swells. 
What  a  scene  now  courts  your  eager  gaze  !  The 
mighty  cataract  in  all  its  sublimity  and  immensity 
is  above  and  before  you  ! 

You  are  in  the  nave  of  j  vast  temple,  whose 
walls  are  the  eternal  hills,  corniced  nith  crags, 
ornamented  with  a  fret-work  of  tr'^es,  shrubs,, 
flowers,  and  foliage  ;  whose  dome  is  the  blue 
heaven  ;  and  whose  altar  is  the  mighty  c  itaract, 
draped  with  hangings  of  green  and  .';now  ;  from 
the  unseen  base  of  which  clouds  vjf  iuccnse  are 
ascending  to  the  skies,  and  bearing  up  the  solemn 
peal  of  its  mist-hidden  thunder-toned  organ.  The 
floor  is  of  emerald  and  alabaster  ;  elements  are  the 
ministers,  and  you  a  worshipper.  This  temple 
was  the  work  of  Nature,  and  to  the  God  of  Nature 
erected.  Human  hands  could  not  lift  even  a 
corner  of  its  veil ;  human  art  could  not  equal  the 
smallest  of  its  marvels  r  i;'iman  eyes  could  not 
penetrate  the  least  of  its  mysteries  ! 

A  vast  semicircle  of  cataracts  stretches  around 
you,  forming  a  sceno  of  surpassing  splendor  and 
sublimity.  Huge  and  massy  walls  of  rock  are  on 
either  side,  and  the  shivering  skiff*  in  which  you 


m  n 

r  I 


i-  '^ 


I 


i!     ■fel 


152 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


sit,  floats  upon  the  surface  of  a  sea,  fathomless, 
convulsed,  and  immeasurable.  Endless  torrents, 
bursting  as  it  were  from  the  opened  heavens,  leap 
from  the  brow  of  the  tremendous  precipice,  plunge 
headlong  down  the  terrific  height,  and  lash  the 
deep  profound,  in  to  which  they  are  hurled,  to 
foam  and  madness.  The  sonorous  breathings  of 
the  tortured  abyss  roll  up  and  reverberate  in 
thunder-peals  ;  and  air  and  earth  tremble  at  the 
shock  of  the  contending  floods.  Dense  clouds  of 
spray,  rolling  and  curling  up  in  shapeless  and 
ever-varying  forms,  conceal  the  meeting  of  the 
waters,  and  majestically  soar  aloft,  heaven-borne 
on  the  wings  of  the  wind.  The  sun,  shedding 
refulgent  splendors  upon  the  glorious  scene,  seems 
girdled  with  a  radiant  halo  by  the  rising  mists  ; 
and  rainbows,  broken  into  fragments  by  the  shift- 
ing vapours,  appear  and  vanish,  dazzle  and  dissolve, 
on  every  side,  in  quick  and  magic  succession. 

Lost  in  the  contemplation  of  such  sublimity  and 
magnificence,  the  moments  fly  unnoted,  and  the 
Landing  is  before  you,  where  the  red-vestured  sen- 
tinels of  Queen  Victoria  aie  seen  pacing  back  and 
forth  their  accustomed  promenade.  If  an  Ameri- 
can, you  will  probably  endeavour  to  convey  by 
your  appearance  and  looks,  a  very  definite  idea 
of  your  Nation's  independence,  — if  a  Briton,  your 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


153 


stature  will  no  doubt  increase  a  full  inch.  At  all 
events,  you  will  pass  on  up  the  bank,  by  a  fine 
carriage-road,  which  was  constructed,  at  a  cost  of 
about  five  thousand  dollars,  by  Messrs.  Street  and 
Clarke,  and  completed  in  the  year  !8'27.  In  re- 
turn for  the  expense  incurred,  by  the  formation  of 
this  road,  the  government  of  Upper  Canada  gave 
those  gentlemen  the  sole  right  of  ferry  for  twenty- 
one  years.  It  is  a  very  smooth  and  pleasant  way, 
and  the  ascent  is  quite  gradual. 

From  the  top  of  the  bank,  and  along  it  toward 
Table  Rock,  but  at  no  one  particular  point,  the 
best  and  grandest  of  all  upper  views  of  the  Falls 
is  presented.  The  eye  here,  grasps  at  a  glance, 
the  whole  mighty  measure  of  the  cataract ;  and 
Niagara  in  all  its  beauty  and  glory,  in  all  its  ma- 
jesty and  immensity,  is  spanned  by  a  single  look. 
It  is  before  you,  revealed  in  all  its  grandeur  and 
extent,  in  all  its  splendor  and  sublimity.  You 
stand  entranced  and  spell-bound.  Amazement 
and  admiration  are  in  your  gaze  ;  awe  and  reve- 
rence in  your  soul.  It  is  a  scene  to  linger  on,  and 
long  you  linger,  turning  often  away  to  rest  the 
eye,  and  relieve  the  mind,  and  as  often  recurring 
to  it  with  increased  wonder  and  interest.  But  at 
length,  you  pass  on,  with  it  still  in  your  eye  and 
mind,  to  Table  Rock  ;  which,  passing  the  Camera 


:.: 


154 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


Obscura,  and  the  Museum,  at  length  you  reach. 
The  view  of  the  Horse-shoe  Fall  from  this  point, 
is  indeed  magnificent. 

No  wonder  that  the  scene  from  Table  Rock  has 
been  lauded  and  extolled.  No  wonder  that  it  has 
been  the  ultima  ihvlc  of  many  a  long  and  weary 
pilgrimage.  It  is  all  that  has  been  said  of  it,  and 
infinitely  more: — words  cannot  convey  an  idea 
of  its  unearthly  sublimity  and  grandeur.  The  sea 
of  rapids  leaping  and  tossing  above  ;  the  vast 
breadth  and  depth  of  the  raging  stream  ;  the  im- 
petuous rush  of  the  ocean-torrent ;  the  awful 
plunge  of  the  prodigious  volume  ;  the  tremendous 
concussion,  heard  and  felt,  but  not  seen  from  the 
covering  mists,  that  envelope  and  hide  the  crush- 
ing appulsion  of  the  meeting  masses  ;  the  pointed 
spear-shaped  jets  that  shoot  far  up  from  the  con- 
vulsed bosom  of  the  heaving  and  surging  abyss  ; 
the  multitudinous  whirling,  shifting,  convolving 
clouds  of  spray  and  vapour,  that  roll  heavily  up 
and  load  the  unresting  air  ;  the  dark,  threatening 
clifTs,  that  shut  in  the  vexed  and  foam-covered 
accumulation  of  floods,  in  the  angry  gulf  below  ; 
the  resplendant  glories  shed  over  all  by  the  burn- 
ing sun,  minting  with  gorgeous  colours  the  sheet, 
the  stream,  and  the  spray,  wreathing  with  rain- 
bow-hues   the    fleecy   and    emerald    robes  of  the 


TO   NIAGARA    FALLS. 


155 


grand  cascade,  and  arching  the  fearful  chasm  with 
a  zone  of  brightness  and  beauty  ;  the  wild  hoarse 
roar  of  the  mad  rapids,  and  the  deep  booming  | 
thunders  of  the  cloud-compelling  cataract  —  these, 
and  a  thousand  other  collateral  and  subordinate 
features,  combine  to  form  a  scene  which  appals 
and  confounds  the  observer,  while  it  attracts  and 
rivets  his  wrapt  and  eager  gaze.  God  of  Omnip- 
otence !  this  wonder  is  Thy  work ;  the  very 
ground  is  holy  with  Thy  presence  !  This  you 
feel  —  must  feel  —  though,  perhaps,  you  do  not 
speak  it.  Crowding  emotions  swell  the  bosom  ; 
thoughts  that  defy  utterance,  fdl  the  mind.  The 
power  and  presence  of  the  Almighty  seem  fear- 
fully manifest.  You  gaze,  and  tremble  as  you 
gaze  ! 

Table  Rock  is  on  the  same  level  with  the  Fall, 
and  is  a  continuation  of  the  ledge  or  strata  from 
which  the  torrcnt-llood  is  precipitated.  It  pro- 
jects over  the  bank,  and  beyond  the  curve  of  the 
cascade  to  a  considerable  distance,  and  from  this 
circumstance,  derive^  its  name  ;  having,  in  some 
respects,  a  tabular  aspect.  Creep  to  the  edge  and 
look  down, — the  sensation  is  awful.  There  is 
nothing  but  the  invisible  and  imponderable  air 
between  the  thin  leaf-like  crag  which  supports 
you,  and  the  massy  blocks  of  limestone  that  lay 


■} 


^il 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


157 


coacervated  more  than  one  hundred  feet  beneath, 
where  they  have  fallen  from  the  dizzy  elevation 
whence  you  look,  and  been  rent  and  scattered  by 
the  shock.  There  is  a  strange  and  indefinable  fas- 
cination in  the  terrible  depth  that  confronts  you, 

"  Charming  the  eye  with  dread ;" 

and  it  requires  an  effort  to  withdraw  from  that 
horrible  verge  of  danger  and  death. 

Table  Rock  was  formerly  of  much  greater  ex- 
tent than  it  is  at  present ;  large  portions  of  the  cliff 
having  at  different  times  been  broken  off,  and 
dashed  to  pieces  by  the  fall.  In  1818,  an  im- 
mense mass, — one  hundred  and  sixty  feet  in 
length,  and  from  thirty  to  forty  feet  broad,  —  was 
torn  from  ih'  brow  of  the  bank,  hurled  down  the 
steep,  and  shattered  to  fragments  at  the  foot  of 
the  precipice.  The  disruption  took  place  about 
midnight,  and  the  shock  of  its  fall  startled  and 
awoke  the  inhabitants  for  miles  around,  by  whom 
it  was  mistaken  for  that  of  an  earthquake.  In  the 
years  1828  and  '29,  other  smaller  portions  of  the 
rock  fell  ;  and  a  deep  fissure,  which  cannot  but  be 
observed,  embracing  within  its  circumference  an 
enormous  mass  of  rock,  shows  that  at  no  very  dis- 
tant date  a  similar  catastrophe  may  be  expected. 

The  old   building  and  machinery  upon  Table 


i 


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h  i 


m 


158 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


Rock,  were  erected  for  the  purpose  of  forcing 
water  up  the  high  bank  to  the  City  of  the  Falls, 
for  domestic  and  other  uses.  The  project  was 
found  to  be  impracticable,  and  was  therefore 
abandoned. 

The  shape  or  outline  of  the  British  Fall,  is  un- 
dergoing almost  constant  change,  from  the  dis- 
ruption of  large  portions  of  the  ledge  or  cliff,  by 
which  it  is  produced.'^  In  1G78  it  was  nearly 
straight  across.  Since  that  time,  it  has  become 
deeply  indented,  and  has  at  diflerent  periods, 
taken  diflerent  forms  of  curvature,  from  one  of 
which,  it  derived  the  name  of  Horse-shoe. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  outline  of  this  cas- 
cade assumes  a  different  shape  to  the  eye,  at  every 
point  from  which  it  is  seen.t  Consequently,  it  is 
presented  in  a  new  and  striking  aspect  at  every 
change  of  place  ;  and  as  many  fine  views  are  ob- 
tained as  there  are  separate  stations  from  which 
to  observe.  From  the  Clifton  House,  the  Pavil- 
ion Hotel,  and  the  Barracks,  it  appears  under 
forms  having  but  slight  similitude  to  each  other, 


*  In  1823  several  large  pieces  fell,  one  of  them  nearly  half 
an  acre  in  extent. 

t  The  same  is  true,  though  in  a  less  degree,  of  the  Ameri- 
can Fall. 


orcing 

Falls, 

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TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


159 


—  varying  from  concave  to  square,  and  from 
square  to  triangular,  —  but  all  extremely  interest- 
ing ;  —  the  view  from  the  former  is,  however,  im- 
measurably the  most  grand  and  superb. 

After  having  sufficiently  examined  and  admired 
the  scene  from  Table  Rock,  you  return  along  the 
plank  pathway  to  the  rooms  of  Mr.  Starkey, 
where  there  is  a  Stair-case  down  the  bank,  and 
where  you  will  procure  proper  apparel  and  a  guide 
to  Termination  Rock,  which  is  behind  the  great 
sheet.  Provided  with  these  essential  requisites, 
you  descend  a  long  flight  of  spiral  stairs,  erected 
some  years  since  by  Mr.  Forsyth,  from  the  foot  of 
which,  taking  the  path  to  the  right,  you  soon 
arrive  at  the  misty,  spray-washed  entrance  to  the 
cavern,  which  it  is  your  purpose  toexi)lore.  Here 
you  pause,  to  enjoy  a  most  sublime  view  of  the 
cataract,  and  particularly  of  the  Ilorsc-shoe  Fall, 
which  comes  thundering  down,  above  and  before 
you,  stretching  far  away  to  the  left  in  its  huge 
and  awful  proportions.  Another,  and,  in  some 
respects,  a  better  view  of  the  same  grand  specta- 
cle, is  seen  from  the  river-margin,  to  which  you 
descend. 

From  this  point,  more  than  any  other,  you  ap- 
pear to  realize  the  vast  height  of  the  precipice,  and 
the  prodigious  weight  and  impulsion  of  the  torrent. 


■ 


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•f.e.il 


ny 


Wi 


i  ;i 


160 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


It  seems  a  god-hurled  flood,  and  you  an  insect- 
atom,  scarce  beyond  its  rush.  Tremendous  in  its 
force,  immense  in  its  extent,  appalling  in  its  sub- 
limity, the  vast  cascade  confounds  and  terrifies 
you,  while  it  hugs  your  gaze  with  a  charm  you 
can  neithc'i  comprehend  nor  break.  A  dread  in- 
definable divinity  is  in  and  upon  it,  which  com- 
pels your  adoration  of  Him  who  piled  the  rock, 
and  heaved  the  flood  that  made  Niagara,  and  made 
it  speak  of  Him,  through  every  sense  of  power  and 
beauty,  to  mind  and  soul.  There  is  a  godness  in 
the  scene,  that  is  felt  in  every  fibre,  but  cannot 
be  expressed, — that  infinitely  expands  the  soul, 
which  is  yet  too  small  to  grasp  its  dim  outline 
even,  —  that  crowds  the  mind  with  august  thoughts 
and  emotions,  which  struggle  for  utterance,  but 
which  the  heart  only  can  tell  to  its  Creator  in  the 
silent  eloquence  of  worship. 

Of  all  views  of  Niagara,  this  is  the  most  im- 
pressive ;  and,  were  there  no  other,  it  would  seem 
inexplicable  from  whence  these  unintermitted  and 
immeasurable  floods  could  proceed,  which  appear 
literally  to  fall  from  the  heavens.  From  this 
scene,  tearing  yourself  away,  you  regain  the  top 
of  the  sloping  bank,  and,  impatient  to  attain  the 
penetralia  of  Nature's  hidden  mysteries,  essay  the 
passage  behind  the  sheet.    The  winds  howl  around 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


161 


you  ;  —  the  spray  dashes  in  your  face  with  bhnd- 
ing  and  almost  suflbcating  force.  You  can  scarce- 
ly see,  scarcely  breathe  ;  but  the  supporting  hand 
of  the  guide,  and  his  encouraging  voice,  sustain 
and  re-assure  you.  With  hasty  but  careful  steps 
you  press  on,  and  are  in  a  moment  more,  at  your 
journey's  end,  and  can  both  see  and  breathe  more 
freely.  The  spray  still  showers  upon  you,  but 
with  diminished  force  and  density  ;  and  you 
look  around,  above,  below.  What  a  fearful 
place  !  what  an  imposing  scene  !  Unutterable 
awe  is  the  first,  and  for  some  seconds,  the  only 
emotion. 

You  stand  upon  a  narrow  ledge,  scarce  three 
feet  wide,  and  gaze  with  intense  interest  up  nine- 
ty feet  at  the  meeting  arches  of  rock  and  water  ; 
and  down  seventy  feet  at  a  steep  precipice,  and  a 
flashing  sheet,  which  are  lost  to  view  in  the  rising 
mists.  You  see  the  mighty  torrent  roll  off  the 
cliff  above  your  head,  and  plunge  with  a  lightning 
rapidity,  down  the  dark  profound.  You  cannot 
see  the  strife  between  fall  and  flood  —  the  mad 
melee  of  many  waters  ;  — but  you  hear  the  sound 
of  the  battling  elements,  and  you  feel  that  the 
struggle  is  terrific.  Such  sights  I  such  sounds  I  — 
The  eye  aches  ;  the  ear  is  pained.  But  there  is  a 
dreadful  fascination  in  the  place  :  — the  eye  looks 

L 


!iij  i 


II '1 


' 


162 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


eagerly,  though  it  aches;  and  the  ear  is  pleased 
with  that  which  pains  it. 

An  inviting  extent  of  cavern,  dim,  misty,  and 
indefinable,  is  before  you.     You   long  to  explore 
it,  and  advance  a  step,  when  the  guide,  catching 
your  arm,  assures  you    that  you  sU\n'\  upon  the 
extremity  of  Termination  Rock,  and  that,  though 
it  is  possible  to  make  your  way  a  few  feet  farther, 
the  attempt  would  be   at  the  hazard   of  your  life. 
Reluctantly  you  abandon  the  hope  of  diving  still 
deeper  into  the  shadowy  recesses  of  that  terribly 
attractive  cavern  ;  and  survey  with  a  closer  scru- 
tiny the  vaulted  hall,  in  which  you  stand.     Rag- 
ged,  impending,   and  seamed  with   fissures,  the 
arching  rock  above  you  appears  to  be  on  the  point 
of  crumbling  beneath  the  weight  of  the  superin- 
cumbent  flood.      Massy  fragments,  held  by  no 
visible  support,  seem  almost  in  the  act  of  falling  ; 
and  you  can  hardly  persuade  yourself,  that  danger 
is  not  imminent,   and  destruction  at  hand.     But 
the    reflection,  that  thousands  and    thousands  of 
persons  have  passed  under  them,  back  and  forth, 
with  impunity,  inspires  you   with  courage  ;  and 
you  scan,  but  with  a  throbbing  pulse  and  a  heav- 
ing bosom,  the  wonders  and  glories  by  which  you 
are  surrounded. 

The  living  deluge  that  bursts  from  the  trembling 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS, 


103 


crag  far  above  you,  and,  flashing  by,  is  scarcely 
seen,  ere  it  thunders  up  from  the  gulf  below, 
seems  to  make  an  eternal  present  of  both  past  and 
future,  by  its  liglitning  rush  and  ceaseless  flow. 
Omnipotence  mingling  infinities,  dashing  down 
the  flood,  lifting  the  spray,  and  swelling  the  sound, 
pervades  the  place  with  His  presence,  and  deepens 
the  awe  it  inspires.  But  any  attempt  to  describe 
the  sights,  sounds,  or  sensations,  produced  by  this 
transcendant  scene,  must  be  vain,  and  worse  than 
vain  ;  and  I  leave  you  **amid  these  vast  and  eter- 
nal workings  of  gigantic  nature,"  to  commune 
with  Him,  **  whom  Nature's  self  obeys,"  and 
remain  or  emerge  at  will. 

Drenched  and  dripping,  you  at  last  come  forth, 
bearing  upon  your  mind  and  memory,  an  impres- 
sion that  no  time  or  change  can  ever  erase  ;  and 
with  solemn  step  and  thoughtful  mien,  ascend  the 
stairs,  and  resume  your  ordinary  dress.  Register 
your  name,  receive  a  certificate  that  you  have 
been  to  Termination  Rock,  pay  the  customary 
charge,  and  then,  if  you  choose,  rest  yourself,  and 
partake  of  some  refreshment.  Mr.  Starkey,  who 
keeps  this  establishment,  is  attentive  to  the  wishes 
of  his  guests,  and  has  a  fine  cabinet  of  minerals 
and  other  curiosities,  which  is  worthy  of  notice. 

Returning  to  the  ferry,  stop   at  the  Museum  as 


M 


164 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


you  pass,  and  examine  Mr.  Barnett's  admirable 
collection  of  natural  and  artificial  curiosities  A 
splendid  view  of  the  Falls  may  also  be  enjoyed 
from  the  piazza  of  the  Museum  ;  and  Mr.  Barnett, 
who  is  both  intelligent  and  polite,  will  do  all  in 
his  power  to  render  your  visit  agreeable.  At 
the  Camera  Obscura,  make  a  short  pause,  to  see 
the  miniature  and  moving  Niagara,  animated  and 
life-like,  which  that  instrument  presents. 

From  thence,  return  to  the  ferry, — which,  on 
the  Canada  side,  is  kept  by  Mr.  Shultersburgh,  a 
civil  and  obliging  man,  careful  and  attentive  to 
his  business,  and  experienced  in  all  that  relates  to 
his  vocation,  —  and,  while  crossing  the  river,  en- 
joy again  the  glorious  view  of  basin,  cliff,  and 
cataract,  in  that  solemn  temple,  which  seems  filled 
with  the  Eternal  presence,  its  liquid  floor  quaking 
beneath  His  Omnipotent  tread.  From  this  sub- 
lime sanctuary,  having  offered  up  the  incense  of 
an  awe-awakened  praise  to  Him  whose  habitation 
if  on  earth,  is  here, — return  to  your  hotel,  recruit 
your  physical  energies  with  rest  and  food,  and 
ponder  upon  the  mighty  and  magnificent  scenes 
you  have  beheld. 

In  the  evening,  make  another  visit  to  Iris  Island, 
which  you  will  find  even  more  interesting  and 
agreeable  in  the   sweet    moonlight,  than  in  the 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


165 


en- 


broad  glare  of  day,  —  and  caljh,  if  you  cnn,  a 
glimpse  of  the  lunar  bow.  There  is  a  witching 
loveliness  about  tliis  island  in  the  soft  obscurity  of 
evening,  that  cannot  fail  to  please  ;  and  a  solemn 
grandeur  in  the  cataract  at  night,  that  commands 
reverence.  Then,  too,  imagination  holds  her 
undisputed  sway  ;  — but  the  half-concealment  that 
shrouds  every  object,  confines  her  to  the  task  of 
filling  up  the  shadowy  outline  of  the  vast  indis- 
tinct, that  is  every  where  around.  It  seems  a 
spirit-land,  and  gigantic  forms  of  inessential  grace 
and  beauty  float  before  the  vision,  upon  the  atmos- 
phere of  fancy.  Hushed  is  the  voice  of  mirth, 
silent  the  tongue  of  conviviality.  The  Actual 
blends  with  the  Ideal :  contemplation  rules  the 
hour,  and  the  place  ;  and  a  subdued,  but  not  dis- 
mal, melancholy  pervades  every  brow  and  bosom. 
No  sound  is  heard,  but  the  choral  chaunt  of  the 
elements  :  no  sentiment  breathed,  but  such  as  be- 
fits the  spot,  and  the  season.  The  Genius  of  Ni- 
agara, hovering  near,  yprcarls  his  misty  pinions 
over  all  things  ;  and  the  whole  scene  is  hallowed 
by  the  invisible  presence  of  Deily. 

End  the  day  by  reflecting  upon  what  you  have 
seen  and  felt ;  and  looking  over  your  guide-book, 
to  determine  where  you  will  go  next.  And  so,  good 
night ;  —  I  know  your  slumbers  will  be  sweet. 


I  '  J 


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166 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


CHAPTER    VI. 

REMARKS  AND  ADVICE — GOOD  COUNSEL — PUPLIC  GARDEN  — 
ROAD  DOWN  THE  BANK  —  INDIAN  LADDER  —  POINT  VIEW — ■ 
MINERAL  SPRING — VIEW  OF  THE  CATARACT  —  WUIRLPOOL 
RAPIDS  —  WIIIULPOOL  LODGE —  WIIIULPO<<L—  BODIES  —  DE- 
SCENT—  VARIED    ASPECT — RATI"      IN      THE     WHIRLPOOL 

devil's  hole  —  HEWLETT'S  CELLAR — LEWISTON  HEIGHTS. 

"It  seemed  some  mountain,  rent  and  riven, 
Aciiannel  for  tiie  stream  bad  given  •, 
So  bigh  tlie  clifl's  of  limestone  gray, 
Hung  beetling  o'er  the  torrent's  wa}', 
Yielding,  along  tlieir  rugged  base, 
A  flinty  footpatb's  niggard  space, 
Where  be  who  winds  'twixt  rock  and  wave, 
May  bear  the  headlong  torrent  rave, 
And  chafe,  in  madness  and  in  pnde, 
'Gainst  rocks  that  wall  its  prisoned  tide." 

O  U  HAVE  now  seen  the  Falls 
from  the  principal  points  of  obser- 
vation, and  the  beautiful  scenery 
immediately  around  them.  If  you 
remain  any  time,  and  you  should 
for  several  days  at  least  ;  you  will  view  them 
again  and  again,  and  find  them  grow  in  your  esti- 
mation at  every  succeeding  visit.  People  who 
come  to  see  the  Falls,  run  hurriedly  around  them 
for  a  few  hours,  and  then  away,  can  form  little 
idea  of  their  real  magnitude  and  sublimity.     Those 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


167 


who  remain  longest,  invariably  admire  them  most. 
It  requires  time  to  reaUze  their  wonderful  beauty 
and  grandeur.  There  is  so  much  to  observe,  that 
the  mind  becomes  confused,  and  cannot,  but  upon 
repeated  examination  form  a  correct  judgement. 

Besides  the  cataract  itself,  there  are  various  ob- 
jects in  the  vicinity,  which  you  will  desire  to  see, 
and  which  few  are  content  to  forego  the  pleasure 
of  beholding.  To  these  I  shall  now  direct  your 
attention.  1  should  advise  you  to  pass  down  on 
the  American  side  to  Lewiston,  and  return  on  the 
Canada  shore.  You  can,  in  this  way,  visit  all 
the  points  of  interest,  with  most  economy  of  time 
and  trouble,  (.'onveyances  are  to  be  had  on  either 
side,  upon  reasonable  terms  ;  and  a  line  of  Omni- 
buses run  hourly  from  the  village  of  Niagara 
P^alls,  to  the  Mineral  Spring,  Whirlpool,  and 
Devil's  Hole.  But  the  walk  along  the  bank  of 
the  river  is  most  delightful,  and  views  of  beauti- 
ful and  romantic  scenery  present  themselves  at 
almost  every  step.  For  females  and  invalids,  it 
would  perhaps  be  too  fatiguing  ;  but  many  ladies 
walk  to  the  Whirlpool,  and  all  who  can,  are  ad- 
vised to  do  so.  The  scenery  along  the  river  bank 
is  every  where  grand  and  picturesque,  and  no  part 
of  it  should  be  lost,  if  it  can  be  avoided. 

A  few   rods    below    the  American   Fall   is  the 


m 


^' 


i 


168 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


Public  Garden  of  which  wc  have  before  spoken  ; 
where  a  beautiful  summer-house,  ahnost  on  the 
brow  of  the  precipice,  and  commanding  a  noble 
view  of  the  cataract,  occupies  the  precise  spot 
where  Abbott,  the  Hermit  of  the  Falls,  for  a  long 
time  lived,  in  a  hut  erected  by  himself. 

About  eighty  rods  further,  and  you  come  to  an 
excavation,  where  a  good  deal  of  earth  and  stone 
has  been  removed.  It  is  the  commencement  of  a 
carriage-road  down  the  bank,  which  was  begun 
some  fourteen  or  fifteen  years  ago,  but  soon  after 
discontinued.  In  183G,  it  was  again  comL^enced 
by  Mr.  Rathbun,  and  would  have  been  soon  com- 
pleted, but  for  the  unfortunate  issue  of  his  affairs. 

Just  below,  there  is  a  notch  in  the  bank,  near 
a  fine  spring,  at  which  the  Indian  Ladder,  as  it 
was  called,  stood.  This  ladder,  which  was  mere- 
ly a  large  cedar  tree,  resting  against  the  rock,  was 
the  most  ancient  means  of  descending  to  the  base 
of  the  cliff,  and  thence  attaining  the  foot  of  the 
cascade.  The  limbs,  and  a  few  notches  cut  into 
the  trunk  itself,  were  all  there  was  to  cling  to  ; 
and  the  last  person  known  to  have  descended  it, 
—  a  daring  hunter,  by  the  name  of  Brooks,  who 
ventured  down  in  pursuit  of  game, — fell  before 
he  reached  the  bottom,  and  suffered  severe  con- 
tusion. 


hi 


M 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


109 


Point  View,  so  called  from  the  splendid  view  of 
the  chasm,  river,  and  cataract,  which  it  affords, 
is  about  three  fourths  of  a  mile  below  the  ferry. 
Standing  here,  you  can  look  directly  down  two 
hundred  feet  at  the  broad  stream,  flowing  smooth- 
ly by,  and  at  the  towering  banks  by  which  it  is 
environed.  The  view  of  the  cataract,  though  dis- 
tant is  most  magnificent,  and  one  that  you  will 
not  be  likely  soon  to  forget. 

The  Mineral  Spring  is  about  one  and  a  fourth 
miles  beyond  Point  View,  a  few  rods  from  the 
river,  and  is  sheltered  aiul  shaded  by  a  pretty  and 
graceful  open  building  of   Grecian  architecture, 


i; 


M  IN  KRAI.     S  I'll  I  NO. 


erected  by  Mr.  llathbun.  The  water  wells  up 
between  the  rocks,  and  is  collected  in  a  stone 
basin  ;  —  it  is  strongly  impregnated  with  sulphur, 
contains  also  lime  and  magnesia,  and  is  said  to  be 


Mi 


170 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


quite  similar  to  that  of  Harrowgate,  England. 
From  the  road,  a  short  distance  beyond  this  spring, 
the  first  view  of  the  Falls  is  obtained  by  persons 
coming  from  tiie  direction  of  Lockport  or  Lewis- 
ton.  It  is  extremely  beautiful,  and  is  that  with 
which  Capt.  IJall  was  so  much  pleased. 

Some  eighty  or  one  hundred  rods  below  the 
Mineral  Spring,  commence  the  Whirlpool  rapids  ; 
and  from  this  point,  to  that  singular  phenomenon, 
every  foot  of  the  way  possesses  a  strong  and  ex- 
citing interest.  Walled  in  by  those  giant  banks, 
from  which  it  makes  one  dizzy  to  look  down,  the 
river,  as  if  angereJ  to  fury  by  the  restraint  they 
impose  upon  it,  ruiVhes  aloi:-  wild,  impotuons,  and 
uncontrollable  ;  and  pours  its  raging  floods  into 
that  mad  sea  of  agitation,  the  Maelstroom  of 
Niagara. 

The  Whirlpool  Is  three  miles  from  the  Falls,  and 
about  one  hundred  rods  from  the  main  road,  where 
a  house  of  entertainment,  called  the  Whirlpool 
Lodge,  has  been  erected  by  Mr.  Wheeler,  who  is 
also  proprietor  of  the  giitunds  in  rear,  through 
which  the  visiter  must  pass.  A  small  fee  is  paid 
here,  for  the  privilege  of  entering  these  embower* 
ed  walks,  uud  Ibr  the  use  of  tjie  steps  down  the 
bank. 

Having  reached  the  American  Clifl',  upon  whose 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


171 


the 


lofty  brow  a  bcaiilitul  suminei -house  stands  — 
another  proof  of  th(»  enterprise  and  taste  of  Mr. 
Rathbun  —  pause  and  behold: — the  Wliirlpool  is 
before  and  far  bilovv  you,  spread  out  like  a  little 
sea,  tossed  and  ajritutcd,  and  shut  in  on  every  side 
by  towering  and  troc-crowncd  banks.  This  vast 
basin  is  in  form  nearly  circular,  and  has,  beyond 
doubt,  been  hollo wfd  out  by  the  action  of  the 
water  ;  probably,  \v  hen  the  cataract  in  its  upward 
progress  from  Lewiston  heights,  had  reached  this 
point,  and  for  a  time  halted  in  its  amazing  march. 

The  river  here,  makes  an  acute  angle  in  its 
course,  turning  abruptly  off  to  the  right,  behind 
the  cliff  upon  which  you  stand.  The  furious  tor- 
rent comes  thundering  and  foaming  into  this  great 
basin  ;  and  its  currents,  kept  away  from  the  place 
of  egress  by  the  mighty  rocks  upon  which  the  cliff' 
rests,  are  forced,  by  their  prodigious  impulsion, 
quite  across  the  month  of  the  outlet ;  and,  meeting 
the  opposite  bank,  are  again  diverted  from  their 
course  ;  and,  curving  inward,  are  carried  round 
and  round  the  basin,  till  they  are  drawn  down  in 
the  centre,  driven  subfcrraneously  far  forward, 
and  finally  ejected  at  the  opening  below,  where 
they  boil  up,  and  bound  away  in  frightful  and  tre- 
mendous plunges. 

Nothing  that  has  life,  floats  upon  this  chaos  of 


li 


172 


PICTORIAL    (i  U  I  D  E 


I 


convulsions ;  but  huf^e  timbers,  and  sometimes 
dead  bodies,  are  drawn  into  its  vortex,  and  car- 
ried round  in  ceaseless  gyrations  for  days,  and 
even  weeks,  before  they  escape  from  its  convolv- 
ing currents,  and  whirling  eddies.  Two  British 
soldiers,  in  attempting  to  desert,  by  swimming  the 
river,  were  last  season  drowned,  and  hurried  into 
the  Whirlpool,  where  their  swollen  disfigured  j 
bodies  remained  for  a  number  of  days,  objects  of 
loathing  and  disgust, — now  floating  motionless 
along,  and  anon,  with  a  horrible  seeming  anima- 
tion, diving,  emerging,  leaping,  and  as  it  were, 
playing  with  the  foaming  surges,  and  conflict- 
ing wavco. 

From  the  height  whereon  you  stand,  but  little 
of  the  terrible  agitation,  and  wild  intumescence  of 
the  Whirlpool,  can  be  perceived  by  the  unassisted 
eye.  The  little  sticks  —  as  they  appear  to  be  — 
which  you  observe  whirling  and  tossing  about,  are 
in  reality,  large  pieces  of  timber  ;  as  by  the  aid 
of  an  object  glass,  you  will  become  convinced  ; 
and  be  also  enabled  to  realize  something  more 
of  the  grandeur  and  commotion  of  this  strange 
and  fearful  sea  of  imprisoned,  but  rebellious  and 
still  raging  floods. 

By  a  long  and  tortuous  declivity  of  rude  steps, 
you  descend  to  the  base  of  the  clitT,  and  from  the 


TO    N  I  A  G  A  R  A    !•  A  L  L  S . 


173 


level  rocks  below,  obst-rve  the  wild  rush  and  whirl 
of  the  mad  waters.  The  rapids  above,  and  at  the 
entrance  of  the  Whirlpool,  are  terribly  grand  and 
striking.  The  huge  surges  leap  and  plunge  with 
prodigious  force  and  velocity  ;  and  their  impulsion 
is  so  great,  that  the  whole  mass  is  heaved  up  at 
the  centre  of  this  mighty  maelstroom,  to  an  eleva- 
tion of  not  less  than  twelve  feet  above  its  outer 
surface. 

Passing  round  to  the  right,  you  come  to  the  out- 
let of  this  tumultuous  sen,  and  behold  a  scene  of 
surpassing  grandeur.  Two  black  and  frowning 
cliffs,  scarcely  thirty  rods  apart,  rear  their  huge 
and  giant  forms  to  a  height  of  nearly  three  hundred 
feet;  and  there  stand,  terrible  and  impending  — 
the  mountain-sized,  rork-armed  guardians  of  this 
maelstroom-portal.  The  escaping  torrents,  crowd- 
ing through  the  narrow  passage,  and  hurrying 
down  the  slope,  rush  forward  with  such  incon- 
ceivable rapidity  and  force,  that  the  middle  of  the 
gushing  volume  is  raised  much  higher  than  the 
side  next  you,  which  is  smooth  and  glassy,  but 
incredibly  swift ;  and  the  bounding  surges  leap 
away  in  sublime  plunges  of  eight  to  ten  feet  high. 
These  rapids  are  seen  to  much  better  advantage 
from  the  opposite  side,  as  they  are  nearest  to  that 
shore,  and  indeed  dash  along   the   huge  rocks  by 


i 

'J  fl 

'I 


174 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


which  it  is  lined,  in  ihcir  curvetting  nnd  uncon- 
trollable course. 

Nothing  that  comes  down  ilic  river,  can  escape 
being  drawn  into  the  \Vhirli)ool,  as  the  current  is 
carried  quite  across  tlie  outlet,  and  turned  up  by 
thf-  opposing  bank.  Wave  urger4  wave,  current 
accelerates  current,  billow  chases  billow,  and 
there  they  revolve  round  and  round,  till,  swallow- 
ed in  one  place,  ejected  in  anoiher,  contending 
here,  and  separating  there,  parting,  reposing, 
meeting,  mingling,  eddying,  plunging,  they  are  at 
last  engorged  in  the  deep  bowels  of  the  abyss, 
forced  far  under  the  superincumbent  mass,  and 
finally  vomited  forth  at  the  narrow  outlet,  whence 
they  hasten  away  in  the  mad  rapture  of  new- 
found ircedorn,  to  seek  repose  in  the  quiet  bosom 
of  the  distant  lake. 

It  is  utterly  impossible  to  describe  the  Whirl- 
pool, so  OS  to  give  any  adequate  idea  of  its  gran- 
deur and  sublimity.  Beauty  it  has  none, — it  is 
fearful  —  terrible!  There  is  not  a  winning  fea- 
ture about  it.  It  is  solemn,  awful,  impressive  ; 
and,  as  a  f^reat  natural  curiosity,  second  only  to 
the  mighty  cataract  of  Niagara. 

A  visit  to  the  Whirlpool  should  never  be  omit- 
ted. It  is  in  ail  respects,  totally  different  from 
every  thing    about   the    Falls.      A  vast  unity  of 


ii 


TO    N  I  A  CJ  A  U  A    FALLS. 


175 


factious  and  warring  energies,  sljut  in  and  im- 
prisoned by  massy  and  cloutl-reaching  barriers, 
having  no  relation  or  likeness  to  aught  else  in  the 
material  world  ;  it  is  alone  in  its  solemn  strange- 
ness, and  touches  no  chord  ol'  human  sympathy. 
The  only  emotions  it  excites,  are  unmitigated 
astonishment,  and  inexplicable  awe; — such,  at 
least,  was  its  eilect  i      a  the  writer. 

The  same  cause  that   makes  the  waters   in  the 
basin  below  the  Falls,  rise  sonietimes  so  quickly, 
and  to  such  a  height,  —  contraction  of  the  channel 
—  produces  a  similar  eirect  in  this.     A  heavy  wind 
down  the  lake,  raising  the  river  one  or  two  feet, 
causes  it  to  rise  there,  from  fifteen  to  twenty  feet, 
and  in    the  Whirlpool   to  nearly  the  same  height. 
At  such  a  time,  when  it  has   received   the  tribute 
of  destruction  ;  and  planks,  timbers,  trees,  and  it 
may  be   boats,    and   dead   bodies,  are  caught  and 
enveloped  in  its  tremendous  toils,  it  is  seen  in  its 
most  sublime  and  awful  aspect,  and  seems,  in  its 
wild  delight,  a   living  but  imprisoned  desolation, 
sporting   with,  while  it  rends   its  prey,  and    yet 
wearing    a   savage    solemnity  of  countenance,  in 
the  highest  degree   hideous  and   appalling.     At   a 
lower  stage  of  water,  its  currents,  cavities,  eddies, 
and  gyrations,   are  more    distinctly   marked,  and 
the  view  though  less  striking,    is   perhaps  more 


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176 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


impressive.  Seen  at  any  time,  and  seen  aright, 
it  cannot  fail  to  excite  astonishment,  and  fill  the 
soul  with  awe. 

A  large  raft  of  timber  escaped  a  few  years  since, 
from  its  fastenings  above   the  Falls,  and  was  pre- 
cipitated over  the   cataract.      The  disjoined  logs 
were  speedily  hurried  to  the  Whirlpool,  in  which 
they  remained  for  a  number  of  weeks.     It  then 
presented  a  scene,  as  those  who  beheld  it  relate, 
of  intense  and  startling  interest.     Scattered  about 
in  every  direction,  they  were  to  be  seen  in  all  at- 
titudes, and  from  listless  inanity,  to  a  wonderful 
life-likeness.     Some  were  floating  on  the  glassy 
surface,    others   riding  the    gentle   swells,    some 
careering   over    the   rolling    billows,    and  again 
others  leaping,  wrestling,  crashing,  plunging,  fly- 
ing, following,  retreating,   pursuing,  shooting  up 
high  in  the  air,  diving  far  down  in  the  deep,  hid- 
ing here,  and  starting  up  there,  as  if  a  mad  forest 
of  trees,  riding  these  infernal  surges,  held  here  a 
wild  inebriate  revel ;  —  or  rather,  as  if  the  mob  of 
waters,  seizing  these   immense   weapons,  waged 
intestine    war,    and  fought   one   another, — flood 
threshing   flood,  and    surge  goading  surge  with 
these    Titanic   war-clubs,  now    mingling  in  the 
horrid  melee  of  strife,  now  thrown  far  apart,  and 
again  rushing   together,    implacable,    vindictive. 


J 


TO    NMAGARA    FALLS. 


177 


again 

:,  fly- 
g  ^p 

,  hid- 
■  ore St 
lere  a 
ob  of 
aged 
flood 
with 
the 
and 
tive, 


and  unrelenting.  It  must  have  been  a  strange 
and  fearful  scene  I 

Enormous  blocks  of  limestone  lie  scattered  and 
coacervated  at  the  foot  of  those  two  tremendous 
cliffs,  showing  that  a  wilder  warfare  than  that  of 
contending  currents,  has  been  here  at  some  time 
waged  —  a  war  of  elements,  a  contest  between 
rock  and  flood, — the  mighty  cataract  and  the 
eternal  hills  being  parties  in  the  strife.  The  strait 
is  much  narrower  at  this  point,  than  at  any  other 
of  its  whole  course  ;  and  the  place  seems,  from 
this  circumstance,  the  best  adapted  for  the  con- 
struction of  a  suspension  bridge.  Who  will  give 
himself  to  wealth  and  fame  by  the  erection  of  so 
desirable  a  work  ? 

Half  a  mile  below  the  Whirlpool,  there  is  a 
deep,  dark  cove,  or  chasm,  in  the  rocky  bank, 
called  the  Devil's  Hole,  which,  from  its  own 
gloomy  grandeur,  and  the  historical  associations 
connected  with  it,  is  an  object  of  no  inconsider- 
able interest,  and  of  much  resort.  One  of  the 
most  wild,  rugged,  high,  and  massy  cliffs  in  the 
world,  rises  above  it,  bleak,  bare  and  projecting, 
from  which  a  noble  view  of  the  river  and  gulf  is 
presented.  A  stream,  called  Bloody  Run,  usually 
small,  and  often  dry,  in  the  summer,  but  swoln 
to  a  torrent  size  in  the  fall  and  spring,  pours  its 

M 


1 

I 


f 


178 


PICTORIAL   GUIDE 


dark  waters  down  this  fearful  chasm,  and  over  the 
vast  rocks  that  form  its  bed,  to  the  river  below. 


devil's   hole   from   below. 

The  road  passes  close  by  this  cove,  or  hole,  and 
an  old  saw-mill  stands  upon  the  brink  of  the 
precipice. 

By  a  long,  tedious,  difficult,  but  not  dangerous 
route,  starting  from   the  top  of  the  bank,  about 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


179 


and 
the 


twenty  rods  below  the  Devil's  Hole,*  winding 
your  way  down  and  around  the  precipice,  you  de- 
scend into  this  frightful  gulf,  clamber  down  and 
over  huge  moss-covered  rocks,  fallen  trees,  and 
accumulated  rubbish,  that  almost  bar  the  passage, 
and  toil  on  to  the  river  side.  Unless  you  do  this, 
you  can  form  but  a  very  faint  and  imperfect  con- 
ception of  the  wild  and  savage  grandeur  of  the 
place,  into  whose  dark  rock-shut,  forest-hidden 
recesses  not  a  ray  of  sunlight  has  ever  forced  its 
way.  An  air  of  sullen  sublimity  pervades  its 
gloom ;  and  when  in  its  shadowy  depths,  you 
seem  cut  off  from  the  world,  and  confined  in  the 
prison-house  of  terror.  It  is  akin  to  the  cataract 
and  the  whirlpool,  in  the  awe  it  inspires  ;  but  has 
not  a  single  feature  in  common  with  the  one  or 
the  other.  It  is  a  wild,  dark,  savage,  gloomy 
cavern  ;  and  its  exploration  should  not  be  omitted. 
To  appearances,  it  is  a  fit  place  for  a  demon- 
dwelling  ;  and  hence,  probably,  derives  its  name. 
It  is  memorable  as  the  scene  of  a  tragic  event, 
elsewhere  to  be  narrated,  which  occurred  during 
the  old  French  war,  and  was  of  a  strange  and 
bloody  character. 


;  * 


erous 
about 


*  The  remains  of  an  old  fliglit  of  steps  are  still  at  the  Devil's 
Hole,  but  so  much  broken  and  decayed  as  to  be  unserviceable. 


180 


PICTORIAL   GUIDE 


Ffora  a  hill,  not  far  hence,  an  extensive  and 
splendid  prospect  opens  to  the  view^.  You  can 
see  Queenston  Heights,  Brock's  Monument,  the 
plains  and  villages  below,  the  whole  remaining 
course  of  the  river,  the  American  and  English 
forts,  the  spreading  lake,  and  the  far  off  hills  and 
forests  fading  away  in  the  distance  beyond.  There 
is  hardly  in  the  world,  a  more  beautiful  and  pic- 
turesque landscape,  than  is  here  presented  to  your 
observation ;  nor  one  which  exhibits  a  greater 
variety  of  interesting  and  pleasing  objects. 

About  two  and  a  half,  or  perhaps,  three  miles 
from  the  Devil's  Hole,  there  is  a  singular  cavity 
in  the  rock,  some  ten  or  fifteen  feet  below  the  top 
of  the  bank,  which  is  worth  examination,  and  is 
known  by  the  name  of  Hewlett's  Cellar.  It  is  of 
a  triangular  shape,  as  regards  both  its  level  and 
altitude  — pointed  at  the  top  and  back.  The  walls 
and  floor  are  of  solid  limestone,  and  it  appears  to 
have  been  formed  by  the  breaking  out  of  two  im- 
mense pieces  of  rock  :  — how  this  could  have  been 
done,  seems  from  the  shape  and  situation  of  the 
cave,  almost  inexplicable. 

Less  than  a  mile  from  this  cave,  terminates  ab- 
ruptly the  mountain-plain,  through  which  Niagara 
has  cut  its  deep  and  devious  channel,  for  more 
than  two  leagues  ;  and  the  gorge  from  which  the 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


181 


river  here  emerges,  presents  a  grand  and  striking 
aspect.  Rising  on  either  side,  to  a  height  of  near- 
ly four  hundred  feet,  the  steep  banks  stand  like 
huge  and  solemn  sentinels,  guarding  the  narrow 
gateway  —  their  tree-crowned  summits  nodding 
defiance  to  all  below.  The  view  from  the  heights 
is  very  comprehensive  in  its  extent,  embracing 
plains,  villages,  river,  forts,  and  lake  ;  and  a  broad 
prospect  still  beyond,  bounded  only  by,  and  blend- 
ing with  the  distant  hori/on.  Descending  the 
heights,  you  are  soon  at  Lewiston,  which  lies  in 
the  valley  just  below. 

If  you  have  taken  our  advice,  and  walked  from 
the  Falls,  along  the  bank  of  the  river  to  this  place, 
you  will  probably  spend  the  night  here,  and  pass 
up,  on  the  opposite  side,  in  the  morning.  If,  on 
the  contrary,  you  come  by  carriage  conveyance, 
you  will  have  time  to  dine,  and  return  to  the  Falls 
on  the  other  shore  ;  or  to  visit  Fort  Niagara,  and 
get  back  before  dark.  In  any  event,  you  will 
patronize  'mine  host'  of  the  Frontier  House  —  a 
portly  rosy-looking,  good-humoured  scion  of  the 
*  fast-anchored  isle,'  who  is  specially  recommend- 
ed, and  who  will  take  every  pains  to  recommend 
himself,  to  your  favour.  I  leave  you  to  your  good 
cheer,  and  a  sweet  repose.    Bon  soir . 


^ 


'M 


I     I 


II 


182 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


CH  A  PTER    VM. 

QUEENSTON  HEIGHTS  —  BROCK'S  MONUMENT  —  BLOWN  UP  — 
COVE  OR  CHASM  —  VVHIRLPOOI, —  BENCACKIE  POINT  — VIEW 
FROM  —  MI;'DDY  RUN  —  CASCADE — BANK  OPPOSITE — BEN- 
DER'S CAVE — IMPROVEMENTS — rilANNEL — LUNDY'S  LANE 
—  street's  point — BURNING  SPRING — BRIDGEVVATER  — 
CUIPPEVVA  —  BATTLE-GROUND —  CONCLUDING  REMARKS. 

"  The  balc-fircs  flash  on  high,  from  rock  to  rock  — 
Death  rides  upon  the  sulplinry  Siroc  — 
Red  Battle  stamps  his  foot,  and  Nations  feel  the  shock." 

"  Thy  glories  are  sought  till  the  life-throb  is  o'er  — 
Thy  laurels  pursued  though  they  blossom  in  gore. 
'Mid  the  ruins  of  columns,  and  temples  sublime, 
The  arch  of  the  hero  doth  grapple  with  time  : 
The  Muse  o'er  thy  form  tlirows  her  tissue  divine, 
And  History  her  annal  emblazons  with  thine." 


m 

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11 

h 

^ 

EAVING  Lcwiston,  and  cross- 
ing the  river  in  a  boat,  propelled  by 
horse  power,  you  land  in  her  Brit- 
annic Majesty's  dominions,  at  the 
village  of  Queenston,  and  ascend 
the  heights,  so  memorable  for  one  of  the  most 
desperately-contested  battles  of  the  late  war,  in 
which  the  American  forces,  finally  lost  a  thrice- 
won  victory,  and  were  compelled  to  lay  down 
their  arms,  and  surrender  at  descretion  ;  and  the 
English  sustained  an  irreparable  loss  in  the  death 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


183 


M 


of  General  Brock,  which  no  victory  could  com- 
pensate. He  was  killed  by  a  musket  ball,  in  the 
early  part  of  the  action,  while  cheering  on  the 
brave  troops  under  his  command.  When  struck, 
he  was  standing  by  a  cherry-tree,  still  pointed  out, 
in  an  orchard  to  the  right,  at  the  foot  of  the  moun- 
tain-plain. 


FERRY     AT     I,  E NV  1  S  T  O  N. 

From  the  heights  at  Queenston,  a  similar  but 
less  obstructed,  and  liirteforc,  more  extensive 
view  of  the  country,  river,  and  lake,  is  presented, 
to  that  of  the  opposite  elevation.  From  the  top  of 
the  monument,  nearly  five  hundred  feet  above  the 
river-level,  it  was  still  more  grand  and  compre- 
hensive ;   but,  considered  as  an  observatory,  that 


'I 

n 


i 


184 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


towering  structure  is  among  the  things  that  were, 
having  been  nearly  demolished  by  an  explosion  of 
gunpowder. 

This  monument,  standing  upon  the  most  lofty 
point  of  Queenston  Heights,  was  erected  by  the 
Provincial  Legislature,  to  the  memory  of  General 
Brock,  whose  remains  were  removed  from  Fort 
George,  and  deposited  in  its  vault,  with  those  of 
his  Aid,  Colonel  McDonald,  who  was  mortally 
wounded  in  the  same  action,  and  died  the  follow- 
ing day.  In  addition  to  its  value  as  a  work  of 
art,  it  had  other  and  stronger  claims  to  respect. 
It  was  erected  in  honour  of  a  good  and  gallant 
man,  whose  name  and  deeds  form  a  part  of  the 
history  of  the  times ;  and  whose  uniformly  kind 
treatment  of  American  prisoners — so  very  differ- 
ent from  that  of  too  many  of  his  contemporaries  — 
will  ever  be  held  in  grateful  remembrance  by  the 
American  people.  Wantonly  to  destroy  such  a 
monument,  raised  in  commemoration  of  such  a 
man,  would  be  base  indeed  ;  but  there  was  not 
wanting  some  wretch,  infamous  and  despicable 
enough  to  be  guilty  of  the  outrage. 

On  the  night  of  the  seventeenth  of  April,  1840, 
the  monument  was  blown  up  by  some  villain,  or 
villains,  unknown,  and  completely  ruined.  The 
stairs  were  thrown  down,  the  shaft  rent  in  several 


'     9 


.v<^ 


PRESENT    APPEARANCE    OF    BROCK's    MONUMENT. 


'. 


•)■■ 


'*1 


i» 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


185 


places  nearly  from  top  to  bottom,  the  inscription- 
tablet  fractured  quite  across,  tlie  key-stone  forced 
out,  and  the  whole  structure,  in  short,  irremedi- 
ably injured.  The  damage  was  at  first  supposed 
to  be  much  less  than  the  event  proves  it  to  have 
sustained.  In  February  of  the  following  year,  a 
large  portion  of  the  top  fell ;  and  now,  the  dome 
is  entirely  gone,  the  balustrade  almost  destroyed, 
and  scarcely  a  single  part  unbroken.  The  inte- 
rior is  a  literal  heap  of  ruins,  and  the  ground 
for  many  yards  around,  covered  with  the  fallen 
fragments. 

This  execrable  transaction,  has  been  attributed 
to  the  notorious  Benjamin  Lett,  — who  is  now  in 
the  penitentiary,  for  an  attempt  to  blow  up  the 
steamer  Great  Britain, — but  with  what  justice, 
we  are  unable  to  say.  Whoever  did  it,  richly 
deserves  a  short  shrift  and  a  strong  halter ;  and 
this  we  believe  to  be  the  sentiment  of  every  gen- 
erous mind.  Any  wretch,  so  depraved,  as  to  war 
against  the  ashes  and  honours  of  the  dead,  is  unfit 
to  associate  with  the  living. 

From  the  heights  of  Queenston,  passing  along 
up  the  river  bank,  you  come,  when  a  short  dis- 
tance below,  and  nearly  opposite  the  Devil's 
Hole,  to  a  cove  or  gulf,  something  similar  to  that 
gloomy  chasm,  but  of  much  less  magnitude.    It  is 


186 


^ 


PICTORIAL   GUIDE 


I'  ^, 


however,  dark  and  romantic,  and  quite  secluded, 
and  may  be  worth  exploring  to  the  river  ;  a  feat 
we  have  not  yet,  but  intend  soon,  to  accomplish. 
About  half  a  mile  further,  and  you  come  again 
to  the  Whirlpool,  of  which,  from  the  summit  of 
the  Canada  Cliff,  a  capital  view  is  afforded.  The 
rapids  entering  this  imprisoned  sea,  are  almost 
directly  in  front ;  and  those  at  the  outlet,  immedi- 
ately below  you.  The  view,  is  in  many  respects, 
better  than  that  from  the  height  opposite.     , 


OUTLET    OF    WHIRLPOOL,    CANADA    SIDE. 

Descending   a  long  and  tortuous,  but  neither 
difficult  nor   dangerous   succession  of  steps   and 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS 


187 


eluded, 
;  a  feat 
mplish. 
e  again 
imit  of 
The 
almost  P 
mmedi-  ]'■ 
'spccts,    Ij 


ither 
and 


slopes,  to  the  foot  of  the  precipice,  you  find  your- 
self on  a  ledge  of  rocks,  with  the  Whirlpool  on 
your  right,  and  the  mad  rapids  plunging  impetu- 
ously past  you,  through  the  narrow  opening.  The 
scene,  from  this  point,  is  inconceivably  grand  and 
impressive,  and  one  you  should  not  fail  to  witness. 
Turning  to  the  right,  and  carefully  picking  your 
way  along  the  margin  of  this  mighty  basin,  you 
may  make  the  circuit  of  the  Whirlpool,  and  get  a 
better  idea  of  its  wild  and  *errible  sublimity,  than 
can  be  otherwise  obtained.  It  is  a  long,  and 
somewhat  fatiguing  walk,  but  the  toil  will  be 
richly  rewarded.  Of  the  entering  rapids, — sur- 
passing in  grandeur,  in  proportion  to  the  breadth 
of  the  stream,  even  those  above  the  cataract  — 
you  will  thus  get  a  near  and  most  splendid 
prospect. 

Having  re-ascended  the  bank,  follow  it  round 
the  Whirlpool,  crossing  large  ravines,  and  passing 
deep  and  thickly-wooded  dells,  till  you  reach  Ben- 
cackie  Point,  at  the  entrance  to  this  maelstroom- 
wonder.  Of  all  upper  views  of  this  vast  sea  of 
imprisoned  waters,  that  presented  to  your  look 
from  this  spot,  is  the  most  imposing  and  unique. 
The  high-rolling  rapids,  rush  along  in  savage 
grandeur,  almost  beneath  your  feet,  but  far,  far  be- 
low you  ;  and  the  whole  measure  of  the  monster 


188 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


abyss,  heaving,  surging,  and  circling  in  its  wild 
agitation,  confronts  your  eager  yet  half-recoiling 
gaze.  Opposite,  rises  the  gigantic,  cloud-soaring 
cliff,  from  which  you  first  saw  the  Whirlpool, 
with  the  sweet  summer-house  resting  like  a  snow- 
wreath  on  its  emerald  summit ;  and  parted  from  it 
by  the  narrow  outlet,  through  which  the  escaping 
floods  are  bounding  away,  in  the  joy  of  release, 
from  the  dark  valley  of  their  confinement,  stands 
the  huge  form  of  its  twin-born  companion,  rearing 
its  mountain  brow  to  an  equal  elevation,  inviting, 
as  it  were,  the  tempests'  shock,  and  defying  the 
storms  of  time  and  fate. 

You  can  watch  the  circling  currents,  the  plung- 
ing surges,  the  gorging  and  disgorging  floods, 
see  the  enterin^^  and  emerging  torrents,  and  all 
the  varied  features  of  this  strange,  wild  prison- 
place  of  raging  waves  ;  and  if  it  does  not  impress 
you  with  a  solemn  awe,  you  must  be  less  suscepti- 
ble to  strong  emotions,  than  the  many  who  behold 
and  wonder  at  the  scene,  as  we  have  often  done. 
The  sullen  stillness,  that  seems  to  hover,  pall-like, 
above  this  broad,  deep  basin ;  the  black  banks,  that 
close  darkly  round,  walling  it  in  with  rnassive, 
impenetrable,  high-reaching  barriers ;  the  tower- 
ing mountain-formed,  dark-browed  warders  that 
guard  its  narrow  portal ;  the  wild  floods  rushing 


!:     I 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


189 


its  wild 
recoiling 
1-soaring 
hirlpool, 
a  snow- 
[  from  it 
escaping 
release, 
f  stands 
rearing 
nviting, 
'ing  the 

!  plung- 

floods, 

and  all 

prison- 

mpress 

scepti- 

behold 

done. 

U-like, 

s,  that 

issive, 

tower- 

s  that 

ishing 

'I 


in,  and  maddening  at  the  toils  by  which  they  are 
enveloped  ;  the  prisoned  volumes,  winding  round 
and  round  the  sombre  slopes  by  which  they  are 
enclosed,  and  thus  weaving  coils  by  which  still- 
coming  currents  are  ensnared ;  the  mad  conten- 
tion that  the  struggling,  jostling,  angry  masses 
meeting  and  battling,  ever  make  ;  the  raging  tor- 
rents, crowding  and  driving  through  the  lean  and 
slender  gateway,  that  leads  to  freedom,  —  these 
and  many  other  strange  and  august  appearances, 
conspire  to  fill  the  mind  with  astonishment,  and 
the  soul  with  awe.  I  do  not  envy  the  man,  who 
can  look  upon  such  a  scene  unmoved ;  nor  ad- 
mire the  apathy  of  his  stoic  gaze,  who  sees  no 
dread  in  this  sublime  display,  and  feels  no  reve- 
rence  for  the    Power  that  made  its   walls   and 

waves.     But,  come 

A  short  distance  above  the  Whirlpool,  a  small 
stream,  called  Muddy  Run,  a  mere  rivulet  in  its 
summer  size,  but  increasing  to  a  torrent  force, 
when  swoln  by  the  falling  rains  and  melting 
snows  of  autumn  and  spring,  leaps  down  the  lofty 
bank,  and  mingles  its  tiny  volume  with  the  here- 
mad  Niagara  ;  which,  like  a  wilderness  of  raging 
floods,  dashes  along  in  a  wild  career  of  rapids,  on 
to  its  maelstroom-prison.  The  cascade  formed  by 
this  little  stream,  is  beautiful  and  unique.     The 


!;J 


I 


I!     ' 


ti 


11 


I 


II     i\ 


190 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


water  falls  in  a  brilliant,  sparkling  shower  of 
silver  spangles,  and,  flashing  off  from  the  rocks 
below,  sends  up  its  mimic  clouds  of  spray,  and  the 
sheen  of  its  twinkling  specks  of  foam ;  and  then, 
sliding  down  the  black  bank,  like  a  beamy  serpen- 
tine strip  of  sunlight,  it  is  caught,  swallowed  up, 
and  whirled  away  in  the  mighty  rush  of  the  roll- 
ing, roaring  river,  to  which  a  thousand  such  di- 
minutive creeks  could  add  no  perceptible  increase. 

The  bank  opposite  this  point,  is  precipitous 
from  the  water's  edge  to  the  top,  and  presents  no 
spot  where  the  foot  of  man  could  find  a  resting 
place.  It  is  bare  and  almost  perpendicular,  show- 
ing its  various  strata,  and  offering  to  the  geologist 
a  rare  opportunity  for  scientific  investigation,  if 
not  a  rich  field  of  research.  Its  naked  aspect  is 
slightly  relieved  by  the  deversified  colouring  of 
its  component  parts  ;  and  still  more  by  the  trick- 
ling rills  th*t  slip  down  its  rocky  surface,  and 
ooze  from  between  its  leafy  layers  of  changing 
consistency  and  alternate  hue. 

About  one  and  a  half  miles  above  this,  you 
come  to  Bender's  Cave, — sometimes  called  the 
Devil's  Den, — which  is  quite  a  curiosity,  and 
must  not  be  overlooked.  It  is  about  twenty  feet 
below  the  top  of  the  bank,  and  seems  to  be  a 
natural  hollow  in  the  rock,  in  shape  something 


3wer  of 
le  rocks 
and  the 
[id  then, 
serpen- 
wed  up, 
the  roll- 
such  di- 
ncrease. 
jcipitous 
sents  no 
I  resting 
r,  show- 
geologist 
ation,  if 
spect  is 
iring  of 
e  trick- 
ice,  and 
hanging 

ms,  you 
led  the 
y,  and 
nty  feet 
o  be  a 
nething 


TO   NIAGARA    FALLS. 


191 


like  a  large  oven,  and  measuring  about  forty  feet 
in  breadth  and  depth.  On  the  rocks,  at  the  back 
of  the  cave,  small  quantities  of  sparry  accretion 
have  been  formed  ;  and  in  spots,  an  appearance  of 
shining  silver  specks  is  presented,  which,  caused 
by  minute  particles  of  water,  may  be  brushed 
away  in  its  glistening  beauty,  by  a  touch.  The 
floor  of  the  cave  is  not  of  ''pure  white  sand,"  but 
is  covered  with  a  mixture  of  argillaceous  and  cal- 
carieous  earth. 

Above  and  below  the  cave,  the  rock  is  perpen- 
dicular ;  from  its  mouth,  a  noble  view  of  the  river 
and  banks  is  aflbrded  ;  and  from  the  top  of  the 
bank,  at  the  entrance  to  it,  a  beautiful,  though 
distant  and  partial,  view  of  the  Falls  maybe  seen. 
The  cavern  is  dry,  and  sequestered  ;  and,  situated  | 
as  it  is,  offers  strong  inducements  to  any  anchorite 
who  may  desire  such  an  abode.  Hermits  are  in- 
vited to  call  and  examine  its  accommodations  ;  and 
it  is  hoped  some  one  will  make  it  his  permanent 
residence,  as  such  an  inhabitant  might  add  some- 
thing to  the  romance  of  this  wonderful  region. 

Having  completed  your  examination  of  Ben- 
der's Cave,  follow  up  the  bank  of  the  river,  ad- 
miring as  you  pass,  the  exquisite  taste  of  the 
Canadian  authorities,  who,  constructing  a  road 
along  the  bank  to  the  Whirlpool,  are  cutting  off 


192 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


all  the  timber  and  underbrush,  and  leaving  the 
bare  cliff  without  a  shrub  to  fringe  its  margin, 
and  relieve  or  soften  its  naked  grandeur.  Strange 
ideas  some  people  have  of  improvement :  —  they 
would  spoil  a  star  to  make  a  spangle.  O,  that 
Morris  might  come  and  sing  to  them  — 


i  :■ 


!  i 


"  Woodman,  spare  that  tree, 
Touch  not  a  single  bough," 

and  thus  arrest  the  unhallowed  work  of  de- 
struction. 

Arrived  at  the  Clifton  House,  congratulate 
yourself  on  having  seen  every  foot  of  that  aston- 
ishing channel,  cut  to  such  an  amazing  depth  and 
through  such  a  surprising  distance,  by  the  ever- 
toiling  cataract  of  Niagara,  and  which  is  in  itself, 
one  of  the  greatest  natural  wonders  of  the  mate- 
rial world.  The  works  of  Man  are  the  playthings 
of  Time  ;  but  these  vast  walls  are  the  enduring 
pages  of  its  history,  and  every  stone  in  the  chasm 
is  a  bead  in  the  wampum  of  Ages  1 

Lundy*s  Lane,  and  that  **  Meteor  Hill,'*  where 
the  celebrated  Battle  of  Niagara  —  miscalled  by 
some,  Bridgewater  —  was  fought,  are  at  Drum- 
mondville,  —  so  named  in  honour  of  General 
Drummond,  commander  of  the  British  forces,  — 
and  about  three  fourths  of  a  mile  northwest  of 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


193 


^ing  the 
margin, 
Strange 
: — they 
O,  that 


of  de- 

:ratulate 
it  aston- 
pth  and 
le  ever- 
itself, 
mate- 
ythings 
iduring 
chasm 

where 
led  by 
Drum- 
eneral 
ces, — 
^est  of 


the  Falls.  Most  travellers  desire  to  visit  a  place 
so  memorable,  and  it  is  presumed  the  reader  is 
not  an  exception.  The  road  up  the  bank,  in 
front  of  the  Clifton  House,  leads  directly  to  the 
battle-ground.  A  church,  a  tavern,  and  several 
other  buildings,  are  on  the  hill,  the  possession  of 
which  was  so  obstinately  contested  ;  and  one  or 
two  are  yet  standing,  which  were  there  at  the 
date  of  the  conflict.  A  walk  through  the  bury- 
ing-ground,  on  the  left  side  of  the  ascent,  will 
show  where  rest  the  remains  of  many  a  gallant 
soldier,  who  lost  his  life  by  the  sad  chance  of  war. 
Returning  from  Lundy's  Lane,  follow  the  upper 
bank  to  the  Pavillion  Hotel,  from  whence  you  have 
a  fine  view  of  the  Falls.  Observe  the  curious 
shape  of  the  Horse-shoe  curve,  as  seen  from  this 
point ;  and  again,  from  the  Barracks  ;  and  then 
continue  your  walk  to  Street's  Point,  from  which 
the  most  admired  and  magnificent  view  of  the 
Canada  rapids  is  presented.  The  mighty  volume 
of  water  rolls  by  in  all  forms  of  commotion ; 
plunging  down  immense  and  steep  ledges,  dash- 
ing against  obstructing  rocks,  and  springing  high 
in  the  air  ;  swelling  here  in  huge  billows,  tum- 
bling there  in  broken  surges,  raging  and  rushing 
on  with  inconceivable  force  and  velocity  towards 
the  awful  precipice,  from  which  it  is  so  soon  to 

N 


I    I 


II    ' 


! 


1  ^ 


t  i, 
■1 

J 


194 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


be  hurled.     No   art  of  language  can  do  justice  to 
this  scene  —  it  must  be  witnessed  I 

A  small  fragment  of  the  river,  bending  deeply 
in  just  above  this  point,  separates  a  round  island, 
called  Cynthia  Island,  from  the  main  land,  and 
also  another  small  one  at  its  upper  extremity. 
Opposite  Cynthia  Island,  on  the  south  shore  of  the 
stream,  is  the  Burning  Spring.  The  water  wells 
up  in  a  barrel,  and  is  kept  in  constant  ebullition 
by  the  rising  gas  ;  which,  on  the  application  of  a 
lighted  candle,  instantly  ignites,  and  burns  with  a 
clear  steady  flame.  On  this  spot,  formerly  stood 
the  village  and  mills  of  Bridgewater,  which,  in  the 
ravages  of  war  did  not  escape  destruction,  and 
have  left  nothing  but  a  name  and  a  few  deserted 
buildings,  to  show  where  once  they  flourished. 

Chippewa  is  one  mile  above.  It  is  a  fine  grow- 
ing place,  but  was  the  head-quarters  of  McNab, 
in  the  Navy  Island  war,  and  suffered  not  a  lit- 
tle from  the  stagnation  of  business,  during  the 
rebellion.  It  is  also  memorable  for  the  battle 
fought  near  it,  which  resulted  in  the  triumph  of 
the  American  arms.  The  plain  on  which  this 
celebrated  contest  took  place,  lies  about  two  miles 
above,  or  south  of  the  village,  and  is  now  covered 
with  cultivated  fields,  and  verdant  meadows.  It 
is  however  regarded  with  deep  interest  by  the 


Listice  to 

g  deeply 
d  island, 
md,  and 
:treniity. 
re  of  the 
fer  wells 
bulliiion 
tion  of  a 
s  with  a 
ly  stood 
h,  in  the 
ion,  and 
deserted 
shed, 
e  grow- 
McNab, 
)t  a  lit- 
:ing  the 
le  battle 
umph  of 
ich  this 
fo  miles 
covered 
|>ws.  It 
by  the 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


195 


people  of  both  countries,  and  resorted  to  by  many 
visiters  to  the  Falls. 

Extend  your  ramble  to  this  plain,  hallowed  in 
the  remembrance  of  two  nations,  return  thence 
to  the  ferry,  feast  your  eyes  again  upon  the  splen- 
dors and  glories  of  Niagara,  which  you  cannot 
too  often  behold  ;  and  then  cross  the  river  and 
rest  from  your  labours  of  curiosity. 


Reader,  —  I  have  thus,  in  part,  performed  my 
office  of  **  GUIDE  :"  indifferently  well,  it  may  be, 
but  with  an  eye  single  to  your  advantage.  I  have 
conducted  you  to  every  part  of  Niagara,  and  to 
all  that  there  is  to  be  seen  at  the  Falls,  and  in  their 
immediate  vicinity.  I  need  not  now  say,  visit 
every  point  again,  and  repeatedly,  for  your  own 
inclinations  will  prompt  you  to  do  this  as  often  as 
your  term  of  stay  and  convenience  will  permit. 
You  will  desire  to  look  upon  the  cataract  at  all 
hours  of  the  day  and  evening  ;  to  see  it  in  every 
light  and  under  every  shade  ;  in  storm  and  sun- 
shine ;  and  in  fall  and  flood.  And  when  you  have 
done  this,  and  are  leaving  Niagara,  perhaps,  for 
ever,  you  will  regard  the  days  and  hours  in  which 
you  listened  to  its  solemn  voice,  and  saw  its  fear- 
ful throes,  as  among  the  most  delightful  you  ever 


i 


1 1 


196 


PICTORIAL   GUIDE 


passed,  unless  in  Move's  young  dream*  when  every 
pulse  was  a  thrill,  and  every  thought  a  rapture. 

But  the  duty  of  a  Guide,  is  not  merely  to  point 
out  the  path  and  lead  the  way,  he  should  endeav- 
our to  direct  your  attention  to  every  feature  and 
appearance  of  the  place  to  which  he  has  led  you, 
and  unless  indifferent  to  the  beauty  and  sublimity 
of  the  marvellous  scenes  he  has  brought  you  to 
behold,  — in  which  case  he  is  a  bore  of  the  most 
intolerable  description,  —  he  will  communicate  his 
own  impressions,  in  the  language  of  his  own  en- 
thusiasm, and  this,  if  you  do  not  sympathize  with, 
you  can  at  least,  excuse.  So  far,  I  have  done 
my  devoir. 

I  am  now  about  to  gratify  your  curiosity  as  to 
the  principal  occurrences,  historical  and  other- 
wise, not  heretofore  mentioned,  connected  by 
their  vicinage,  if  not  more  immediately,  with  the 
wonderful  cataract  of  Niagara,  and  the  remarka- 
ble objects  in  its  neighbourhood ;  that  done,  my 
whole  task  will  be  accomplished. 


PICTORIAL 

TO 

NIAGARA 

GUIDE 
FALLS. 

PART 

1  1  1. 

HISTORICAL  SKETCH 

W  I  T  II 

ACCIDENTS  AND  ADVENTURES. 

"  These  are  events  that  shoult 
And  deeds  that  claim  redempti 
And  names  that  must  not  with 

not  pass  away, 
on  from  decay, 
er,  but  go  down 

1 1 


PICTORIAL  GUIDE 


TO 


NIAGARA    FALLS. 


CHAPTER    I. 

EARLY  niSTOUY  OF  TIIF-:  FALLS  —  FRKNCII  ESTATIIISIIMENTS  — 
EXI'EPITION  OF  LA  SALI-E — IIENNKI'IN'S  TOL'U  OF  EXPLORA- 
TION—  OTHER  VISITEUa  —  (  IIA.NOES  IN  THE  CATARACT  — 
WANT  OF  DATA,  ETC. 

"Adventurous  spirits!  from  afar  thoy  came, 

To  pioneer  a  pathway  up  to  fame; 

And,  freighted  with  the  tidings  ofsalvation, 

To  christianize  each  dark  henighted  nation. 

The  love  of  God,  and  stronger  h>vc  of  gain, 

Urge  tlieir  fleet  footsteps  o'er  tlie  pathless  plain;  — 

They  trace  the  river  to  its  mountain  birth, 

And  covet  all  the  wide  expanse  of  earth: 

For  valued  furs,  they  protter  in  exchange, 

Beads,  tinsel,  gewgaws,  and  a  faith  so  strange. 

The  Red-man  cannot  understand,  nor  they 

Explain  —  and  thus,  they  jjreach,  press  on,  and  prey," 

O  T  H I N  G,  to  one  who  has  seen 
the  Falls,  can  be  indiflerent,  which 
relates  to  them,  and  especially  their 
early  history,  of  which  it  is  strange, 
so  little  is  now  known.  Not  the 
name  even,  of  the  lucky  European  whose  eyes 
were  first  gladdened   by  the   glories  of  Niagara, 


ff^^"'' 

-^^M 

jKv.V      .' 

\  --  ^yRA 

pp 

^^u 

mi 

Wfi 

fV 

■■ff\^S>. 

1 

200 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


has  come  down  to  us  ;  nor  can  conjecture  fix  upon 
the  date  of  the  discovery.  Immortality  would 
have  been  the  recompense  of  the  fortunate  finder, 
had  his  memory  been  preserved  ;  but  the  night  of 
an  utter  oblivion  rests  upon  both  the  man  and  the 
event.  We  should  suppose  that  the  honour  of 
this  great  discovery  would  have  been  promptly 
claimed,  and  jealously  guarded  ;  but  such  seems 
not  to  have  been  the  case  ;  and  so  far  from  having 
rival  pretensions  to  judge,  there  is  literally  none 
to  accept  the  award.  We  can  account  for  this, 
only,  by  supposing  that  the  wonders  of  nature  had 
no  power  to  charm  the  eye  of  avarice  ;  and  that 
a  cataract,  so  vast  and  magnificent  even  as  this, 
rated  less  in  the  estimati'^n  of  the  gold-seeking, 
fur-gathering  settlers  of  New  France,  than  any 
portion,  however  minute,  of  the  glistening  ore, 
any  pelt,  however  poor,  of  the  castor  tribe. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  seventeenth  century,  the 
French  had  established  themselves  on  the  shores 
of  Lake  Ontario,  and  it  cannot  be  supposed  they 
could  long  remain  in  ignorance  of  the  cataract, 
while  they  were  in  constant  intercourse  with  In- 
dians, dwelling  at,  and  around  it ;  and  by  whom 
it  was  regarded  with  superstitious  reverence.  Yet 
it  seems  to  have  excited  no  attention,  or  curiosity 
—  and  is  not  even  mentioned,  that  I  can  learn, 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


201 


T 


fix  upon 
'  would 
3  finder, 
night  of 
and  the 
)nour  of 
romptly 
b  seems 

having 
ly  none 
br  this, 
lire  had 
nd  that 
IS  this, 

eking, 
an  any 
ig  ore, 

|ry,  the 

shores 
d  they 
aract, 
th  In- 
whom 
Yet 
losity 
earn. 


till  half  a  century  later.  Creuxio,  author  of  a 
History  of  Canada,  of  date,  1660,  has  it  marked 
on  his  map  ;  but  in  the  work  itself,  the  name  is 
not  to  be  seen  ;  and,  except  a  bare  allusion,  per- 
haps, no  further  notice  of  the  Falls  is  found  of 
earlier  date,  than  1078,  when  Father  Hennepin 
paid  a  visit  to  the  scene,  had  the  good  sense  to 
appreciate  its  grandeur,  and  has  left  the  world 
indebted  to  him  for  the  first  account  of  Niagara  — 
though  the  French  had  already,  and  indeed  years 
before,  established  trading  posts  on  the  upper 
lakes,  and  penetrated  even  to  the  Mississippi  itself. 
Father  Louis  Hennepin,  a  missionary  of  the 
Catholic  order  of  St.  Francis,  came  to  Canada  in 
the  year  1676,  continued  for  two  years  at  Fort 
Frontenac,  engaged  in  the  cure  of  souls ;  and  then 
being  zealous  in  the  service  of  God,  and  emulous 
in  the  search  of  new  countries,  he  packed  up  his 
priestly  garments,  procured  a  portable  chapel,  and 
joined  the  Sieur  de  La  Salle,  in  an  expedition  of 
discovery,  trade,  and  conversion,  to  the  upper 
lakes,  and  the  Mississippi  ;  which  noble  river  had 
been  reached,  and  partly  explored,  six  years  pre- 
vious by  Father  Marquette,  who  did  not  however 
live  to  relate  the  particulars  of  his  journey,  but 
perished  not  long  after,  in  the  country  of  the  Mi- 
amies,  where  he  was  detained. 


202 


nCTORIAL    GUIDE 


1i 


The  Sieur  de  La  Salle,  with  Father  Hennepin, 
and  others,  set  sail  from  Fort  Frontenac,  in  the 
fall  of  1678,  and  in  process  of  time,  made  thie 
Niagara  river,  at  the  mouth  of  which  he  estab- 
lished a  trading  post,  on  the  site  of  Fort  Niagara. 
When  making  the  portage,  the  party, — and  most 
of  them  doubtless  for  the  first  time, — saw  the 
Falls.  If  we  may  judge  by  the  example  of  La 
Tonti,  the  historiographer  of  La  Salle's  enter- 
prises and  adventures,  who  merely  mentions,  and 
that  incidentally,  that  there  is  a  cataract  six  hun- 
dred feet  high,  between  the  lakes  Erie  and  Onta- 
rio, this  sublime  spectacle  made  but  a  slight  im- 
pression upon  its  dull  beholders.  Father  Henne- 
pin, had,  however,  a  more  just  appreciation  of  the 
august  scene  than  his  companions,  and  while  en- 
deavouring to  describe  it,  deeply  regrets  that  there 
was  not  some  one  present  better  fitted  for  the  task. 

At  some  point  above  the  Falls,  a  vessel  of  sixty 
tons  burthen  was  built  by  La  Salle,  in  which,  in 
the  prosecution  of  their  journey,  they  navigated 
the  lakes  Erie,  St.  Clair,  Huron,  and  Michigan, 
to  the  St.  .Joseph's  River,  where  he  built  a  fort. 
Crossing  the  portage  to  the  Illinois  river,  he  built 
there  another  fort,  from  whence.  Father  Henne- 
pin, with  three  Canadian  boatmen,  set  off  in  a 
canoe,  to  explore  the  Mississippi,  which  he  did  to 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


203 


lennepin, 

ic,  in  the 

made  th^ 

he  estab- 

Niagara. 

■  and  most 

-saw  the 

pie  of  La 

j's   enter- 

tions,  and 

;  six  hun- 

md  Onta- 

slight  im- 

■r  Henne- 

ion  of  the 

while  en- 

that  there 

the  task. 

1  of  sixty 

(Vhich,  in 

avigated 

lichigan, 

ilt  a  fort. 

he  built 

Henne- 

off  in  a 

le  did  to 


the  gulf  of  Mexico  ;  and,  returning,  ascended  to 
the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony,  which  are  indebted  to 
him  for  the  pious  name  they  bear,  —  as  also,  the 
river  St.  Francis. 

Hardship,  danger,  captivity,  and  many  lesser 
evils,  were  bravely  borne  by  the  worthy  Francis- 
can, who  finally  made  his  way  back  to  Niagara, 
to  which  a  second  chapter  of  his  narration  is  now 
devoted ;  and  thence,  to  Fort  Frontenac,  from 
which  he  had  been  nearly  four  years  absent. 

On  his  return  to  France,  he  published  at  Paris, 
in  1684,  a  description  of  Louisiana,  and  at  Am- 
sterdam, in  1698,  an  account  of  other  regions 
which  he  had  discovered  and  explored.  This  lat- 
ter volume,  contains  his  description  of  the  Falls, 
which  is  illustrated  by  an  engraved  view  of  the 
cataract. 

La  Hontan,  who  was  in  Canada  from  1683  to 
'89,  in  his  work  published  in  1703,  gives  a  brief 
notice  of  the  Falls,  which  he  estimated  at  nearly 
eight  hundred  feet  high.  Charlevoix,  the  histo- 
rian of  New  France,  paid  them  a  visit  in  1721, 
and  corrected  the  error  of  his  predecessors,  as  to 
the  descent.  Professor  Kalm,  of  the  University 
of  Sweden,  was  at  the  Falls,  in  1750,  of  which 
he  gave  an  account,  made  public  in  the  follow- 
ing year. 


204 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


Since  that  time,  others  have  seen,  described 
and  sketched,  the  wonderful  Niagara  ;  to  whose 
works  it  is  needless  to  refer,  and  whose  observa- 
tions have  been  too  recent,  or  too  loose  to  estab- 
lish any  important  fact,  or  furnish  data  of  any 
present  value. 

The  description  of  Father  Hennepin,  proves 
that  in  1678,  the  ceneral  appearance  of  the  cata- 
ract was  much  tiie  same  as  at  present,  but  that  in 
one  or  two  important  particulars,  it  has  undergone 
considerable  change.  The  Horse-shoe  Fall  was 
then  nearly  straight,  and  there  was  also  a  third 
cascade,  falling  from  west  to  east,  at  the  left  of, 
and  at  right  angles  with  the  oth^r  two.  It  is 
shown  in  the  engraving,  as  falling  over  the  Table 
Rock,  and  is  particularly  described  in  the  text. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  its  existence  and 
situation. 

When  Professor  Kalm  was  at  Niagara,  seventy 
three  years  later,  this  third  cascade  was  gone. 
He  mentions  it  however,  and  states  that  a  few 
years  before,  there  had  been  a  great  downfall  of 
the  rocks,  when  it  ceased  to  flow.  Kalm's  account 
of  the  Falls,  confirms  the  general  accuracy  of 
Father  Hennepin's  description. 

Other,  but  less  apparent  changes  have  doubt- 
less taken  place,  of  which  we  can  only  conjecture 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


205 


iescribed 
to  whose 
observa- 
to  estab- 
a  of  any 

I)  proves 
the  cata- 
at  that  in 
ndergone 
Fall  was 
)  a  third 
e  left  of, 
'^o.  It  is 
he  Table 
the  text, 
mce  and 


.s 


seventy 
gone, 
a  few 
nfall  of 
account 
racy  of 

doubt- 
ijecture 


the  quality  and  extent,  from  tlie  want  of  precision 
in  these  and  other  authors,  and  our  ignorance  of 
ancient  landmarks.  It  is  probable,  nay,  almost 
certain,  that  the  Falls,  and  particularly  the  west- 
ern part  of  the  Horse-shoe  cascade,  has  receded 
to  a  considerable  distance  since  the  period  of  Hen- 
nepin's visit,  or  even  that  of  Professor  Kalm ;  but 
unfortunately,  they  furnish  no  data  by  which  we 
can  determine  the  actual  distance  gone  through, 
or  the  ratio  of  retrocession.  Henceforth,  it  will 
be  otherwise.  Correct  maps  Tind  charts  will  ena- 
ble future  observers  to  ascertain  how  far  the  Falls 
will  have  receded  in  a  given  time,  and  also  what 
alterations  take  place  in  their  shape  and  general 
appearance. 

It  is  highly  probable,  that  more  extended  re- 
searches than  the  author  has  had  it  in  his  power 
to  make,  might  throw  some  additional  ligiit  upon 
the  past  history  of  the  Falls,  of  which,  truth  to 
say,  but  little  is  known,  where  much  ought  to 
have  been  recorded. 


:'t* 


206 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


CH  A  PTER    II. 

ACCIDENTS  AT  THE  FALLS  —  TRADITIONARY  REMINISCENCE  — 
LOSS  OF  TIIK  BOAT  INDKI'ENDENCf:  —  OTHER  CASUALTIES  — 
DEATH  OF  DU.  HLNGERFORD — CONCLUDING  REMARKS. 

"  How  dreadful  must  thy  summons  be,  O  Death  ! 
To  him,  who,  countinj^on  long  years  of  pleasure, 
Is  quite  unfurnished  for  the  world  to  come  ! 
In  tliat  dread  moment,  how  the  frantic  soul 
Runs  to  each  avenue,  and  shrieks  for  help, 
But  runs  and  shrieks  in  vain!  tlie  swerveless  foe 
Pursues  her  close  through  every  lane  of  life, 
Nor  misses  once  the  track,  but  presses  on. 
Till  forced  at  last  to  the  tremendous  verge, 
At  once  she  sinks  to  everlasting  ruin." 

C  C I D  E  N  T  S  are  by  no  means  of 
infrequent  occurrence  at  the  Falls, 
and,  indeed,  hardly  a  year  passes 
away,  without  one  or  more  of  a 
fatal  character.  The  great  major- 
ity of  these,  however,  originate  in  unseasonable 
attempts  to  cross  the  river  above  the  cataract, 
from  the  mere  vanity  of  daring,  or  while  under 
the  influence  of  partial  intoxication.  The  lawless 
pursuit  of  gain,  by  illicit  importation,  occasionally 
furnishes  a  victim,  and  carelessness  now  and  then 
adds  another  to  the  number.  British  soldiers, 
attempting  to  desert,  have  in  several  instances,  lost 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


207 


MIMSCENCE- 
CASUALTIES- 
EMARKS. 

[)eath  ! 

insure, 

I 

» 

jss  foe 


no  means  of 

it  the  Falls, 

year  passes 

more  of  a 

reat  major- 

iseasonable 

cataract, 

v^hile  under 

he  lawless 

ccasionally 

w  and  then 

soldiers, 

tances,  lost 


their  lives,  by  drowning  ;  and  these  are  the  prin- 
cipal cases  of  casually  within  our  remembrance. 

Tradition  tells  many  a  tale  of  persons  going 
over  the  Falls ;  and  among  others,  of  an  Indian 
and  squaw,  in  a  canoe,  who  were  drawn  into  tlie 
rapids,  and  hurried  down  to  destruction.  It  re- 
lates, that  the  Indian,  when  he  found  it  impossi- 
ble to  escape,  coolly  laid  down  his  paddle,  and, 
taking  up  a  bottle  ot  whiskey,  which  it  had  been 
the  object  of  liis  voyage  to  procure,  deliberately 
applied  it  to  his  lips,  and  kept  sucking  away,  until 
he  was  himself  sucked  in,  by  the  overwhelming 
flood  ;  and,  thus  in  a  spiritual  way,  introduced  him- 
self to  the  world  of  spirits.  Whether  or  not,  he 
took  a  drop  too  much,  it  is  impossible  to  say  ;  but 
of  this  we  are  certain,  that  he  was  loth  to  lose  a 
drop.  The  poor  squaw  paddled  away  till  the  last, 
and  that  was  the  last  of  both.  This  incident  may 
or  may  not  be  apocryphal,  —  we  half  suspect  it  is, 
—  but  it  illustrates  the  ruling  passion  strong  in 
death.     But  to  matters  of  fact,  — 

To  enumerate  all  the  accidents  that  have  hap- 
pened at  the  Falls,  would  be  neither  pleasant  or 
profitable  ;  but  as  the  reader  may  desire  to  peruse  a 
record  of  fatal  disastf.rs,  we  shall  subjoin  a  brief 
notice  of  those,  which,  having  occurred  within  the 
last  few  years,  are  most  readily  recalled  to  mind. 


208 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


In  1810,  the  boat  Independence,  heavily  laden 
with  salt,  while  crossing  to  Chippewa,  filled  and 
sunk,  and  the  Captain,  William  Valentine,  and 
two  of  his  crew  were  carried  over  the  Falls. 
One,  by  the  name  of  Potter,  clung  to  an  oar,  and 
was  rescued  by  a  boat  from  Chippewa,  when 
within  a  few  yards  of  the  rapids.  In  1821,  two 
men  in  a  scow,  were  driven  by  the  wind  from  the 
mouth  of  Chippewa  creek,  info  the  river,  and 
swept  over  the  cataract.  ]n  1822,  two  men  from 
Grand  Island,  met  with  a  similar  fate,  in  1825, 
William  Chambers  and  another  person,  in  ventur- 
ing too  near  the  rapids,  in  a  canoe,  were  drawn 
in,  and  forced  over  the  Falls.  The  year  1835,  was 
marked  by  the  sacrifice  of  anoiier  victim,  in  a 
similar  manner. 

In  1839,  a  sad  accident,  of  an  unusual  charac- 
ter, occurred.  Dr.  Hungerford  of  Troy,  while 
standing  near  the  entrance  to  the  Cave  of  the 
Winds,  was  struck  on  the  head,  by  a  fragment  of 
rock  falling  from  above,  and  instantly  killed. 
One  or  two  other  persons  who  were  with  him, 
were  slightly  contused.  This  is  the  only  in- 
stance, in  which  life  has  been  lost  by  such  a  cas- 
ualty, and  the  only  one  in  which  a  visiter  has 
ever  been  seriously  injured. 

In  the  summer  of  1841,  several  British  soldiers 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


209 


ily  laden 
lUed  and 
tine,  and 
le    Falls. 

oar,  and 
a,  when 
821,  two 

from  the 
ver,  and 
nen  from 

In  1825, 
n  ventur- 
•e  drawn 
.835,  was 
tim,  in  a 

I  charac- 

►y,  while 

of  the 

ment  of 

killed. 

ith  him, 

[only  in- 

h  a  cas- 

liter  has 

soldiers 


were  drowned,  in  an  attempt  to  desert  by  swim- 
ming the  river.  In  the  fall  of  the  same  year,  a 
boat  with  two  men  in  it,  crossing  over  from  Chip- 
pewa, capsized  and  was  carried  over  the  Falls. 
On  the  thirty-first  of  January,  1842,  a  soldier  at- 
tempted to  let  himself  down  the  bank  near  the 
Museum,  intending  to  cross  the  river  on  the 
ice,  —  but  the  rope  breaking,  he  was  killed  by 
the  fall. 

A  son  of  Scotia,  flying  from  a  party  of  infuri- 
ate Irishmen,  one  dark  night,  in  the  fall  of  1836, 
ran,  by  mistake,  off  the  bank,  some  thirty  rods 
below  the  Falls,  and  fell  ninety  feet,  to  the  bot- 
tom of  the  precipice,  where  he  was  found  the 
next  day,  in  a  dreadfully  mutilated  and  freezing 
condition.  In  that  night  of  sufTering,  he  must 
have  endured  more  than  a  hundred  deaths ;  and 
had  his  rescue  been  delayed  but  a  short  time 
longer,  would  have  perished.  By  careful  nursing, 
he  was,  however,  recovered,  and  ultimately  re- 
gained his  health.     It  was  a  providential  escape. 

These  are  the  principal  accidents  that  have  oc- 
cured  of  late  years ;  and  are,  we  presume,  suffi- 
cient to  satisfy  the  morbid  curiosity  of  the  reader, 
unless  he  delights  in  the  records  of  death.  If 
such   be  the  case,   he   must  seek  elsewhere  the 

means  of  pampering  a  depraved  taste, 
o 


ii  I 


In 


if 


, 


i 


If 


210 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


CHAPTER    III. 

VESSELS  SENT  OVER  THE  FALLS  —  SCHOONER  MICHIOAN  — 
SCHOONER  SUPERIOR  —  SHIP  DETROIT  —  SL'DMME  SPECTA- 
CLE—  ADVENTUROUS  DARING — DANGER  AND  RESCUE  OF 
CIJAPIN  — OF  ALLEN  —  THE  MEED  OF  MERIT. 

"  Let  the  name  of  the  Hero  swell  high  in  the  song, 
And  his  deeds  of  destruction  the  chorus  prolong: 
A  fame  born  of  carnage,  and  reeking  witli  blood, 
Though  man  deem  it  glory,  is  treason  to  God; 
And  though  honours  on  earth  may  the  victor  await, 
Can  he  hang  his  red  laurels  on  heaven's  htity  gate? 
No —  the  doors  of  that  world  where  no  evil  can  come, 
Are  never  unbarred  at  the  beat  of  the  drum ; 
But  he  whose  exertions  a  single  life  save. 
Is  greater  than  he  who  gives  thousands  a  grave." 

H  R  E  E  vessels,  have,  at  as  many 
different  periods,  been  sent  over  the 
Falls,  to  gratify  the  curiosity  of  vis- 
iters, of  whom  large  numbers  were 
on  each  occasion,,  attracted  by  the 
novelty  of  the  spectacle.  The  Michigan,  a  con- 
demned schooner,  was  sent  over,  in  1827.  A 
bison,  a  bear,  and  a  number  of  other  animals, 
were  put  on  board,  to  make  the  passage.  When 
all  was  ready,  on  the  appointed  day,  she  was 
towed  into  the  rapids,  and  cast  loose.  Without 
sustaining  any  serious  injury,  she  passed  the  first 


TO   NIAGARA    FALLS. 


211 


fICHIOAN  — 
E  8PECTA- 
RESCUE     OF 


I  song, 

ng: 

}od, 

I; 

await, 
1  gate  1 
;an  come, 


ave." 

,t  as  many 
t  over  the 
lity  of  vis- 
ibers  were 
ed  by  the 
in,  a  con- 
1827.     A 
animals, 
le.     When 
she  was 
Without 
td  the  first 


ledge.  At  the  second,  she  was  less  fortunate  :  her 
masts  went  by  the  board.  Some  alarm  was  now 
manifested  by  the  passengers,  and  bruin,  deeming 
a  longer  stay  impolitic,  le^t  the  vessel,  and  made 
for  the  Canada  shore,  which  he  reached  in  safety. 
At  the  last  ledge,  she  was  much  broken  up,  and 
in  a  wrecked  and  water-logged  condition,  reached 
the  precipice,  and  fell  to  pieces  down  the  cataract. 
Except  the  bear,  and  a  goose  or  two,  none  of  the 
animals  escaped.  About  fifteen  thousand  specta- 
tors were  present. 

In  1829,  the  schooner  Superior  was  despatched 
on  the  same  voyage.  The  dictates  of  humanity 
were  remembered  on  this  occasion,  and  no  lives 
were  sacrificed  for  the  sake  of  amusement.  The 
vessel  lodged  on  the  rocks,  where  she  lay  for  sev- 
eral days,  and  finally  went  down  in  the  night  — 
piecemeal,  it  is  presumed. 

The  ship  Detroit,  before  alluded  to,  was  sent 
down  last  season.  Thousands  of  people  assem- 
bled to  see  her  go  over  the  cataract,  but  were  dis- 
appointed, as  she  grounded  on  the  rocks,  near  the 
last  ledge,  —  which  she  was  dismasted  in  descend- 
ing,—  where  a  part  of  her  hull  still  remains.  A 
staunch  vessel,  of  smaller  size,  might,  perhaps, 
reach  the  brink,  unbroken  ;  but  large,  and  espec- 
ially, old  and  weak  ones,  like  this,  and  the  two 


II 


I  , 


212 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


preceding,  could  not  by   any  possibility.     It  was 
absurd  to  expect  it. 

Sublime,  indeed,  would  be  the  spectacle  of  a 
noble  vessel  careering  down  the  rapids,  and  plung- 
ing from  the  cataract's  verge  at  one  fearful  leap, 
to  the  abyss  beneath  ;  but  far  more  sublime  must 
have  been  the  scenes  mentioned  below,  in  which 
man  boldly  breasted  the  storm  of  rapids,  and  the 
fear  of  death,  in  a  frail  skiff  to  rescue  an  unfortu- 
nate fellow-creature  from  a  doom  of  horror.  Such 
heroism  must  not  pass  unrecorded,  nor  the  meed 
of  praise  be  withheld. 

The  humane  and  adventurous  daring  of  a  man 
by  the  name  of  Robinson,  a  resident  at  the  Falls, 
has  been  shown  in  two  instances,  which  deserve 
to  be  mentioned.  In  the  summer  of  1839,  two 
men  were  at  work  on  the  bridge  to  Bath  Island  : 
one  of  them,  a  Mr.  Chapin,  carelessly  let  the  end 
of  a  plank  touch  the  water,  by  which  it  was  whirl- 
ed under  the  bridge,  and  he  thrown  into  the  stream 
above.  He  was  swept  down  by  the  torrent,  and 
his  destruction  seemed  inevitable.  By  great  good 
fortune,  however,  he  succeeded  in  reaching  a  small 
island  —  now  called  by  his  name  —  in  the  midst  of 
the  rapids,  and  not  far  from  the  cataract.  His  con- 
dition now  appeared  hopeless  enough  —  but  Rob- 
inson  thought  otherwise.      A  boat  was  procured 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


213 


r.     It  was 

acle  of  a 
ind  plung- 
irf'ul  leap, 
lime  must 
.  in  which 
s,  and  the 
n  unfortu- 
ror.  Such 
the  meed 

of  a  man 
the  Falls, 
h  deserve 
1839,  two 
h  Island  : 
t  the  end 
vas  whirl- 
le  stream 
Tent,  and 
reat  good 
g  a  small 
midst  of 
His  con- 
but  Rob- 
procured 


from  the  ferry,  and  tnken  to  Rath  Island,  from 
which  he  embiirked  for  the  rescue  of  Chapin, 
which  he  succeeded  in  ellecting,  though  at  the 
most  imminent  risk  of  his  own  life. 

In  August,  184J,  a  Mr.  Allen,  crossing  from 
Chippewa,  to  the  American  side,  in  a  skilF,  had  ; 
the  ill  luck  to  break  an  oar,  when  his  boat  became 
unmanageable,  and  was  soon  drawn  into  the 
rapids.  In  descending  the  ledge,  the  boat  filled 
and  overset ;  he  was  thrown  out,  but  providen- 
tially, readied  the  outermost  of  the  Three  Sister 
islands.  His  situation  was  now  indeed  deplor- 
able, and  any  one  but  Robinson,  would  have 
deemed  it  hopeless.  He  failed  in  the  first  attempt 
to  rescue  Allen,  but  not  disheartened,  cnewed 
his  efforts  on  the  following  day,  and  again  proved 
successful  in  saving  the  life  of  a  fellow-being. 

The  most  consummate  skill,  in  the  manage- 
ment of  his  boat,  courage,  presence  of  mind,  and 
physical  energy  were  required  in  both  these  in- 
stances, and  Joel  R.  Robinson,  has  won  for  him- 
self, by  the  possession,  and  humane  exercise  of 
this  rare  combination  of  good  qualities,  a  name 
that  will  live,  linked  with  the  memory  of  his  deeds, 
till  the  Falls  cease  to  be  admired,  and  —  to  flow. 


i 

4 


v: 


'III 


214 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


CHAPTER    IV. 

PATRIOT  OCCUPATION  OF  NAVY  ISLAND — EMPLOY  OF  THE  CAR- 
OMNE — MISREPRESENTATION  AND  RESOF.VE  —  CAROLINE 
ATTACKED  —  DURFEE  MURDERED  —  VESSEL  FIRED  AND  SENT 
OVER  THE  FALLS —  EVACUATION  OK  THE  ISLAND. 

''Night  and  silence  came  down  on  the  heautiful  earth; 

Peace  hovered  on  valley  and  hill  •, 
Hushed  became  every  sound  of  lamenting  or  mirth, 
And  all  but  the  cataract  still. 
Hark!  shrieks  p  crce  the  air  I 
See  !  shines  the  red  glare  ! 
God!  can  thy  creatures  tlius  ruthlessly  dare, 
Stain  the  bright  earth  with  a  scene  of  despair? 
Fools !  they  forget  that  earth  is  not  hell, 
And  rebel." 

U  R  I  N  G  the  Canada  insurrec- 
tion, in  the  winter  of  1837,  after 
the  failure  of  the  attempt  on  To- 
ronto, and  the  escape  of  McKenzie 
to  the  United  States,  that  individ- 
ual, with  one  Sutherland,  and  some  five  or  six  and 
twenty  others,  principally  refugees  from  Canada, 
at  the  suggestion  of  Dr.  Cyrenus  Chapin,  of  Buf- 
falo, made  a  lodgement  on  Navy  Island,  in  the 
British  dominion,  and  set  up  the  standard  of  oppo- 
sition to  the  Queen's  Colonial  Government.  The 
natural  sympathy  of  the    American  people,  with 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


215 


F  THE  CAR- 
-CAROLINE 
0  AND  SENT 


earth ; 
rth, 


ir? 

I 
> 

insurrec- 
37,  after 

on  To- 
fcKenzie 

individ- 
r  six  and 
Canada, 

of  Buf- 

,  in  the 
of  oppo- 
it.  The 
le,  with 


the  patriot  cause,  as  it  was  termed,  of  McKenzie 
and  his  confederates,  soon  displayed  itself  in  the 
arrival  of  large  numbers  of  volunteers,  to  rein- 
force his  little  band,  bringing  with  them  supplies 
of  arms,  ammunition,  and  provisions. 

The  distance  of  the  island  from  the  American 
shore,  the  velocity  of  the  current,  and  the  want  of 
proper  boats,  rendered  the  transportation  of  these 
volunteers  and  supplies,  to  the  place  of  their  des- 
tination, a  work  of  great  labour  and  difficulty. 
This  circumstance,  and  the  number  of  persons, 
from  motives  of  business  or  curiosity,  constantly 
desirous  of  passing  and  ro-passing,  from  the  main 
land  to  the  patriot  camp,  suggested  to  Mr.  Wells, 
the  owner  of  a  small  steam-boat,  lying  at  Buffalo, 


THE     STEAMBOAT     CAROLINE. 

called  the  Caroline,  the  idea  of  taking  out  the  ne- 
cessary papers,  and  running  his  vessel  as  a  ferry 


i:. 


ill 


tl 


m 


216 


riCTORIAL    GUIDE 


boat,  between  the  American  shore  and  the  Island, 
for  his  pecuniary  emolument.  Acting  upon  this 
suggestion,  the  Caroline,  on  Friday,  the  twenty- 
ninth  of  December,  left  Buffalo  for  Schlosser  ; 
after  her  arrival,  made  several  trips  to  and  from 
the  islaad,  on  account  of  the  owner,  and  at  night 
was  securely  moored  to  the  wharf  at  Schlosser. 

Some  person,  or  persons,  residents  of  Canada, 
then  at  BuiTalo,  conveyed  intelligence  to  Col- 
onel McNab,  then  commanding  her  Majesty's 
forces,  about  three  thousand  strong,  at  Chippewa, 
of  the  departure  of  the  Caroline,  and  her  destina- 
tion ;  probably,  mis-stating  the  object  of  her  owner, 
and  representing  her  as  in  the  service  of  the  pat- 
riots ;  chartered  for  their  use,  and  intended  to  act 
offensively,  against  the  constituted  authorities  of 
the  Provincial  Government.  Under  this  erroneous 
impression,  that  officer  resolved  to  effect  her  des- 
truction, and  made  arrangements  for  putting  his 
design  into  immediate  execution.  The  force  for 
this  expedition,  was  detailed,  and  placed  under  the 
command  of  Captain  Drew,  a  retired-on-half-pay 
Commander  of  the  Royal  Navy.  At  midnight, 
the  men  were  mustered  under  the  personal  super- 
intendance  of  Colonel  McNab  ;  Captain  Drew  re- 
ceived his  final  directions,  and  they  embarked  in 
eight  boats  for  the  scene  of  operation. 


'"■ 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


217 


e  Island, 

pon  this 

twenty- 

hlosser  ; 

md  from 

at  night 

Josser. 

Canada, 

to  Col- 

Jajesty's 

lippewa, 

destina- 

r  owner, 

the  pat- 

?d  to  act 

)rities  of 

Toneous 

her  des- 

ting  his 

orce  for 

nder  the 

lalf-pay 

idnight, 

super- 

rew  re- 

irked  in 


On  the  American  side,  all  was  still,  and  no  one 
even  dreamed  of  danger.  The  fated  vessel  was 
full  of  people,  most  of  whom,  unable  to  obtain 
accommodations  at  the  tavern,  the  only  dwelling 
near,  had  solicited  a  night's  lodging  on  the  Caro- 
line ;  thinking  no  ill,  and  anticipating  no  alarm. 
The  boat  was  moored  at  an  American  wharf,  in 
American  waters;  the  stars  and  stripes  —  the  flag 
of  their  country  —  floated  above  them,  and  they 
went  to  sleep  in  peace,  and,  as  they  thought,  in  safe- 
ty. There  were  no  arms  or  munitions  on  board  ; 
and  no  precautions  were  taken  against  surprise, 
for  none  were  thought  necessary.  The  customary 
watch  was  set,  the  evening  waned,  and  night  and 
slumber  shed  their  sweet  influences  over  all. 

The  young  sailor  on  watch,  was  thinking,  per- 
chance of  home,  gazing  at  the  camp-fires  on  the 
opposite  shore,  at  Chippewa,  or  listening,  it  may 
be,  to  the  deep  roar  of  the  cataract,  and  fancying 
there  were  bars  of  music  in  its  sweet,  solemn 
tones  ;  when  suddenly,  he  hears  something  mov- 
ing on  the  water  —  oars!  boats!  —  **Who  goes 
there  V  *' Friends,"  —  another  moment,  and  arm- 
ed men  are  crowding  the  peaceful  deck  of  the 
Caroline.  —  **  Cut  them  down  !  give  no  quarters  !" 
There  is  a  fearful  rush, -^  the  clashing  of  weap- 
ons,—  reports   of  fire-arms,  —  forms  half-naked, 


':':,. L 


I 


i'^i 


ill 


i 


!if 


I 


218 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


and  faces  pale  with  fear,  are  springing  to  the 
shore,  through  blows  and  thrusts  that  rain  above 
and  around  them.  A  moment's  pause — another 
unarmed  man  appears,  gazes  wildly  round  — 
throws  up  his  hands  to  ward  off  the  blows  aimed 
at  his  life,  and  leaps  upon  the  dock.  — A  shout  — 
the  crack  of  a  pistol  —  the  flying  man  falls  heavily 
to  the  earth  —  blood  and  brains  flow  from  a  new- 
made  wound  —  a  shiver  —  stillness — an  immortal 
spirit  has  gone  to  its  great  account — Durfee  is 
dead  —  and  the  very  soil  of  American  Freedom 
has  been  outraged  by  the  unprovoked  slaughter  j 
of  one  of  her  sons  ! 

The  Caroline  is  silently  receding  from  the  shore, 

—  a  spark  —  a  blaze  —  flames  1 — Heavens,  they 
have  fired  her  !  Quickly  the  flames  spread  —  on- 
ward passes  the  doomed  vessel  —  the  rapids  gather 
about  her  — and  her  blazing  timbers  fling  a  lurid 
and  fearful  glare  upon  the  mad  sea  of  waters  — 
the  dark  scenery  of  shores  and  islands  —  and  the 
black  heaven  above. 

A  bright  beacon  flares  up,  and  lights  the  far-off 
shore, — a  shout  comes  booming  over  the  waters 

—  and  a  yell  of  hatred  and  defiance  rolls  back 
from  McKenzie's  host. 

But  the  Caroline  !  — on,  still  on  !  — Hark  I  was 
that  a    shriek?  —  it  may  be    fancy; — is  that  a 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


219 


to  the 
1  above 
another 
3und  — 
3  aimed 
hout  — 
heavily 
a  new- 
n  mortal 
irfee  is 
reedom 
aughter 


shore, 
they 
-on- 

jjather 
lurid 

ers  — 

nd  the 

far-off 
ivaters 
back 

!  was 
hat  a 


human  form  ?  —  God  only  knows  !*  —  On  dashes 
the  flame-wrapt  vessel  —  the  waters  rage  more  im- 
petuously beneath  her  —  she  reels  —  plunges  —  the 
forked  flames  play  like  demons  around  her  red-hot 
pipes  and  bars,  and  over  her  glowing  deck  —  the 
surges  beneath  lier  hiss,  and  sparkle,  and  flash  — 
on  she  drives  with  a  tempest-speed  through  the 
torture  of  fire  and  flood — she  nears  the  precipice 
—  gains  the  brink  —  a  fiery  plunge  —  the  secrets 
of  the  deep  were  revealed  in  an  instant's  flash  — 
the  jaws  of  the  abyss  opened  and  shut  —  then  — 
all  was  dark,  and  the  Caroline  was  gone  forever  I 
The  destruction  of  the  Caroline,  and  the  murder 
of  Durfee  excited  the  American  people  along  the 
frontier  to  a  degree  almost  incredible.  In  the 
first  fervor  of  indignation,  had  any  daring  mind 
proposed  such  a  step,  and  headed  the  movement, 
a  force  might  have  been  poured  into  Canada,  com- 
pared to  which,  the  army  of  McNab  would  have 
been  a  mere  cypher.  But,  although  every-body 
was  in  motion,  although  execration  was  on  every 


*  It  is  believed,  tliat  there  were  several  persons  on  board 
the  Caroline,  wiicii  she  went  over  the  Falls,  who  had  con- 
cealed themselves  in  terror  below,  at  the  time  of  the  attack. 
Certain  it  is,  that  five  or  six  individuals  were  missingfrom 
that  night,  of  whose  fate  no  otlicr  supposition  is  probable. 


w 


■•m 


If 


220 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


I 


i[! 


lip,  and  arms  in  every  hand,  no  one  thought  of 
crossing  the  river,  and  taking  vengeance  for  the 
deed.  The  reason  was  this.  They  thought  the 
outrage  so  great,  so  unparalleled  in  its  atrocity, 
that  the  government  must  take  the  matter  at  once 
in  hand  ;  and  that,  unless  the  perpetrators  were 
instantly  given  up,  Canada  would  be  immediately 
invaded  with  fire  and  sword.  The  people  waited 
for  the  government,  and  so  a  war,  a  bloody  and 
sanguinary  war,  was  averted. 

The  force  on  Navy  Island  was  now  about  six 
hundred  strong.  Compliments  at  the  cannon's 
mouth  had  been  exchanged  with  the  forces  at 
Chippewa,  and  one  man  on  the  Island  had  been 
killed.  Preparations  were  making  to  cross  into 
Canada,  when,  by  the  prompt  interposition  of 
General  Scott,  the  Island  was  evacuated,  and  the 
Patriot  army  dispersed. 

Such  is  a  faithful  history  of  the  rise,  progress, 
and  termination  of  the  Navy  Island  War,  in  which 
one  man  was  killed,  and  nobody  wounded  !  And 
such,  also,  a  concise  account  of  the  capture  and 
destruction  of  the  Caroline,  and  the  death  of  Dur- 
fee,  according  to  the  best  of  American  knowledge 
and  belief. 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


OOl 


DUght  of 
i  for  the 
ight  the 
atrocity, 
at  once 
>rs  were 
lediately 
3  waited 
ody  and 

bout  six 
jannon's 
)rces   at 

ad  been 
OSS  into 
ition   of 

and  the 

rogress, 
which 
And 
ire  and 
of  Dur- 
wledge 


CHAPTER    V, 

HERMI"  OF  rnE  FALLS  —  IMS  ARRIVAL  AT  NIAGARA — RFFECT 
OF  T.IE  SCENERY  —  HIS  HABITS,  MANNERS,  AND  ENDOW- 
MENTS—  RESIDENCE  AND  DEATH  — OTHER  PARTICULARS. 

"  But  soon  he  knew  himself  tlie  most  unfit 
Of  men,  to  herd  with  Man-,  with  whom  lie  held 
Little  in  common  ;  untaught  to  suhinit 
His  thoughts  to  others,  though  his  soul  was  quelled 
In  youth,  by  his  own  thoughts  ;  still,  uncompelled, 
He  would  not  yield  dominion  of  his  mind 
To  spirits  against  whom  his  own  rebelled; 
Proud,  though  in  desolation  ;  which  could  find 
A  life  within  itself,  to  breathe  without  mankind." 

RANCJS  ABBOTT— the  Her- 

mit  of  the  Falls,  whose  unsocial 
life,  and  untimely  fate,  have  made 
a  deep  impression  upon  the  public 
mind,  may  justly  claim  the  courtesy 
of  a  notice,  far  more  lengthy  than  our  limits  will 
permit  —  we  must  be  brief.  There  is  a  charm  in 
every  mystery  that  attracts  observation,  and  ex- 
cites curiosity.  His  character  is  a  sealed  volume 
—  his  life  scarcely  less  so  —  both  are  inexplicable. 
The  written  pages  of  his  heart  and  mind  are  open 
to  the  All-Seeing  alone. 

In    humble    guise,    he    came    to    Niagara    in 
1829,  to  remain,  perhaps,  for  a  week.     He  grew 


il't  I 


i"!! 


M 


1:1 


I'll 


222 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


enamoured  of  the  place.  The  glorious  scenery 
wooed  his  melancholy  spirit  by  its  sublime  gran- 
deur. His  visit  was  prolonged,  —  month  after 
month  rolled  away,  and  still  he  lingered  upon  its 
sounding  shores.  Shunning  all  society  but  the 
companionship  of  nature  ;  with  her  only,  could 
his  soul  stoop  to  be  intimate.  The  darkest  seclu- 
sions, the  most  dangerous  paths,  and  the  most 
august  scenes,  alone  seemed  to  possess  charms  for 
his  idiosyncracy  of  mind. 

Learned,  accomplished,  travelled,  gifted  with 
personal  beauty,  conventional  elegance,  and  sin- 
gular powers  of  pleasing,  why  should  he  withdraw 
from  communion  with  his  kind,  and  choose  Na- 
ture and  Solitude  for  his  only  ministers?  Music 
and  letters  were  the  only  luxuries  in  which  he 
indulged: — his  music  was  hushed  when  a  step 
approached,  —  whatever  he  wrote,  was  destroyed 
almost  as  soon  as  written. 

Sometimes,  but  rarely,  he  would  converse,  and 
eloquence  seemed  to  sit  upon  his  tongue  —  more 
frequently,  he  would  indulge  in  moody  silence, 
repelling  every  attempt  to  engage  him  in  dis- 
course. He  was  not  misanthropic,  for  he  did  not 
hate  or  despise,  but  only  avoid,  his  fellow-men. 
He  was  imbued  with  a  deep  sense  of  religion,  — 
''.nd  led  a  blameless  life. 


1 

1 

TO    NIAGARA    FALLS.               223 

scenery 

He  asked  permission  to   build  a  hut  on  one  of 

ne  gran- 

the  Three  Sisters,  which  he  desired   to  isolate  by 

1 

th   after 

a  draw-bridge,  but  was  refused.     He  lived  on  Iris 

1 

■! 

upon  its 

Island  about  twenty  months,  in  an  old  house,  yet 

1; 
! 

but  the 

standing  ;  and  when  driven  from  that,  by  the  in- 

;!i 

y,  could  * 

trusion  of  a  family,  he  erected  a  hut  on  the  brow 

'. 

St  seclu- 

of  the  bank,  below,  but  near  Prospect  Point,  in 

■> 

the  most 

which  he  resided  till  his  death,  which  occurred  in 

111 

arms  for 

1 

June,  1831.     He  went   into  the  river,  below  the 
Falls,  to  bathe,  according  to  his  usual  custom,  and 

i' 

1 

j, 

ted  with 

was  shortly  missed  by   the   ferryman.     His  body 

and   sin- 

1  was  found  at  Fort  Niagara,  ten  days  after  his  de- 

" 

i^ithdraw 

cease,  and  removed  to  the  Falls  for  burial.     His 

ose   Na- 

age  was  about  twenty-eight  years. 

Music 

An  allowance,  ample  for  his  maintenance,  was 

;^hich  he 

furnished  by  his  friends  in  England,  —  his  father 

1 

ti  a  step 

is  rector  of  a  parish  in  that  country.     Little  else 

estroyed 

is  known  of  his  history,  than  we  have  here  related. 

His  unsocial  and  other  eccentricities,   have   given 

rse,  and 

him  the  title  of    *  Hermit  of  the  Falls,'  and  much 

'i1 

h  1 

—  more 

curiosity  is  manifested  by  visiters,  as  to  his  char- 

silence, 

acter   and   habits.      He  sleeps   in   death,   by  the 

1 

in    dis- 

scenes    he    loved    while   living,  —  peace   to   his 

did  not 

repose ! 

i 
t 

w-men. 
gion,  — 

[ 

.  -  .  .--■  -^ 

— •'                                               1  1 

1 

iji 

224 


PICTORIAL   GUIDE 


CHAPTER    Vl. 

MASSACRE  AT  THE  DEVll.'s  II()F,K  — BRITISH  CONVOY  —  INDIAN 
AMBL'SCADE — ATTACK,  Si;Rl>RlSE,  DEFEAT,  CATASTROPHE 
—  ESCAl'E  OF  STEADMAN  AND  ONE  OTHER  —  RELICS,  ETC. 

"War  mounts  liis  iron  car — and  at  his  wheels 
In  vain  soft  Pity  weeps,  and  Mercy  kneels  ; 
He  waves  his  flaming  dart,  and  o'er  the  plains, 
In  mournful  silence,  Desolation  reigns. 
What  tides  of  ruin  mark  his  rutliless  way! 
How  shriek  the  fiends,  exulting  o'er  tiieir  prey ! 
In  vain,  with  trembling  heart  the  coward  turns, 
In  vain,  with  generous  rage  the  valiant  burns  ; 
One  common  ruin,  one  promiscuous  grave, 
O'erwhelms  the  dastard,  and  receives  the  brave!" 

T  THE  Devil's  Hole,  the  upper 
bank,  receding  from  the  river,  and 
leaving  the  rock  nearly  bare,  forms 
a  sort  of  amphitheatre,  bounded  on 
one  side  by  the  precipice,  and  on 
the  other,  by  the  hills  that  circle  round  it.  The 
road  across  this  plain  or  hollow,  passing  the  very 
brink  of  the  fearful  gulf  with  the  demon-name, 
rises  the  bank  or  hill,  in  either  direction,  and 
stretches  away  to  the  Falls  and  Lewiston.  A 
thick  forest  covered,  — at  the  time  of  which  we 
speak  —  the  little  vale  or  plain,  and  the  ascent 
by  which  it  was   environed,  rendering  it  one  of 


—  INDIAN 
VSTROPIIE 
■i,  ETC. 


e  upper 
rer,  and 
!,  forms 
ided  on 
and  on 
:.  The 
16  very 
name, 
and 
on.  A 
ich  we 
ascent 
one  of 


n, 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


225 


those  advantageous  points  for  an  ambuscade,  of 
which  Indian  sagacity  so  frequently  availed  itself 
during  the  early  struggles  of  the  country. 

In  1759,  after  the  English  had  obtained  posses- 
sion of  Fort  Niagara,  and  established  a  post  at 
Schlosser ;  and  while  the  war  with  the  French 
was  yet  raging,  a  supply  of  provisions  and  stores 
for  the  latter  place,  left  Fort  Niagara,  under  the 
convoy  of  about  one  hundred  British  regulars. 
Nothing  disturbed  their  march  for  many  miles  ; 
and  at  length,  the  close  military  order  they  had 
hitherto  preserved,  was  gradually  relaxed,  and 
they  straggled  carelessly  on — the  drivers  whist- 
ling merrily  to  their  sluggish  oxen,  the  soldiers 
scattered  along  the  banks  of  the  stream,  gazing 
eagerly  at  the  romantic  and  beautiful  scenery 
which  its  course  constandy  presented,  and  impa- 
tient to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  wonderful  cataract, 
the  sound  of  whose  mighty  roar  had  been  for  miles 
in  their  ears,  —  some,  pressing  ahead  with  an  ani- 
mated and  impatient  curiosity  ;  some,  lingering, 
to  feast  their  eyes  on  the  sublime  progress  of  the 
river,  threading  its  walled  and  winding  passage  ; 
and  others,  lounging  indolently  behind,  and  often 
pausing  to  rest  in  the  cool  shade,  for  the  season 
was  summer,  and  the  day  intensely  hot ;  — a  fatal 

sense  of  fancied  security  had  fallen  upon  all. 
p 


M 


I 


A\ 


I 


'I 


il 


■l 


220 


PICTORIAL    G  U  I  D  R 


The  Indians,  on  the  frontier,  were  devoted  to 
the  French  interest,  and  tliis  was  too  good  an 
opportunity  to  be  lost,  of  sliovving  their  zoal  in 
the  cause  of  their  allies,  and  striking  terror  to  the 
hearts  of  their  enemies.  Farmer's  Brother,  a  dis- 
tinguished Chief  of  the  Senecas,  with  a  band  of 
his  best  warriors,  to  the  number  of  several  hun- 
dred, ambushed  the  party,  at  the  Devil's  Hole, 
extending  his  line  along  the  hill,  quite  around  the 
little  plain,  leaving  only  a  narrow  entrance  by  the 
road,  thus  cutting  off  every  hope  of  escape.  Silent 
as  the  grave,  and  yet  watchful  as  the  eye  of  Fate, 
lay  these  human  tigers,  waiting  for  their  prey. 

On  came  the  convoy,  in  the  broken,  formless, 
scattered  order  we  have  described, — each  pursu- 
ing his  march  as  best  suited  himself.  Without  a 
suspicion  of  danger,  they  reached  the  valley,  and 
pausing  at  the  Devil's  Hole,  huddled  around  its 
brink,  and  knew  not  that  death  lay  couching  in 
the  awful  depth  that  confronted  their  gaze.  When 
all  were  in  the  snare,  the  net  was  sprung. 

Suddenly,  the  profound  stillneris  that  had  hith- 
erto, unbroken  except  by  the  cataract's  roar, 
reigned  over  all,  was  burst  by  a  tremendous  volley 
of  fire-arms,  and  the  more  terrible  yells  of  the 
savages,  who  closed  in,  and  rushed  upon  their 
prey.     There  was  no  time  to  rally,  for  prayers. 


TO    N  I  A  (i  A  li  A    FALLS. 


o.)7 


voted  to 
good  an 
zeal  in 
n  to  the 
?r,  a  dis- 
band of 
ral  liun- 
's  Holo, 
3und  the 
•e  by  the 
.  Silent 
of  Fate, 
prey. 
lOrmless, 
1  pursu- 
ithout  a 
ey,  and 
Dund  its 
ching  in 
When 

ad  hilh- 
s  roar, 
s  volley 
3  of  the 
n  their 
)rayers, 


or  for  defence.  'i'hc  toniabavvk  and  the  knife 
were  at  their  deadly  work.  Drivers  were  brained 
in  their  seats,  and  soldiers  stabbed  where  they 
stood.  So  sudden  was  the  onset,  and  so  violent 
the  assault,  that  half  the  convoy  was  killed  in  the 
first  moments  of  surprise,  and  the  remainder 
thrown  into  hopeless  confusion,  almost  before 
they  had  time  to  raise  an  arm  or  level  a  gun. 
Never  was  surprise  more  successful,  or  destruc- 
tion more  complete.  The  little  run  poured  its 
torrent  again  over  the  precipice,  and  down  the 
chasm  —  but  it  was  a  stream  of  blood!  Men, 
horses,  wagons,  cattle,  stores,  all  in  one  promis- 
cuous mass  were  forced  over  the  bank,  and  dash- 
ed to  pieces  on  the  rocks  below,  while  the  fiendish 
yells  of  the  savages  drowned  their  shrieks  and 
groans,  and  thundered  from  the  rocks  and  cliffs 
above,  wild,  terrible,  and  triumphant  I 

But  two  persons  escaped.  One,  a  Mr.  Stead- 
man,  striking  spurs  into  his  horse,  a  fme  and  fleet 
steed,  and  dashing  forward  at  the  first  moment  of 
alarm,  succeeded  in  breaking  through  the  Indian 
line,  and  making  good  his  retreat.  He  reached 
Fort  Schlosser  in  safety,  and  without  a  wound, 
though  his  clothes  and  saddle,  were  pierced  with 
balls.  The  other,  a  soldier,  who  was  forced  down 
the  precipice,  in  the  general  fall,  was  providen- 


ji 


rr^J 


228 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


tially  caught  by  the  belt,  on  the  pointed  limb  of  a 
tree,  where  he  hung,  concealed  by  the  foliage, 
from  the  lynx-eyed  search  of  the  Indians,  who 
despatched  every  thing  thy  could  find,  that  had 
life  —  until  the  return  of  night  and' stillness,  con- 
vinced him  the  foe  had  retired,  when  he  cautious- 
ly descended,  and  groped  his  toilsome  way  to  Fort 
Niagara,  which  place  he  reached,  with  the  first 
intelligence  of  the  fate  of  his  party. 

It  is  but  a  few  years  since,  bones,  bits  of  broken 
wagons,  and  many  other  relics  of  this  fearful 
catastrophe,  were  to  be  seen  at  the  bottom  of  the 
gulf ;  but  they  are  now  concealed  beneath  the 
rubbish,  swept  away  by  the  stream,  or  returned 
to  dust. 

The  Indians  held  Mr.  Steadman  in  great  re- 
spect, ever  after  his  so  narrow  and  fortunate  es- 
cape, believing  that  he  was  a  **  Great  Medicine," 
and  gifted  with  magical  powers.  They  gavo  him, 
it  was  said,  all  the  land  he  had  encompassed  in  his 
flight,  which  would  include  all  between  the  river 
and  a  line  from  the  Devil's  Hole  to  Fort  Schlos- 
ser.  His  heirs  set  up  a  claim  to  this  tract  in  after 
years,  but  as  they  could  prove  no  formal  grant, 
and  of  course  establish  no  title,  it  was  denied. 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


229 


CHAPTER    VII. 

NOAH'S  FOLLY:  —  BRILLIANT  CONCEI'TION — UNPARALLELED 
PROCLAMATION —  MAONIFICENT  I'AOKANTRY —  MEMORIALS 
OF  THESE  WONDERFUL  EVENTS  —  SUBLIME  FINALE. 

"  Hey,  diddle  diddle, 

The  cat's  in  the  fiddle. 
The  cow's  jumped  over  the  moon, 

The  little  dog  laughed, 

To  see  such  a  craft. 
And  the  dish  ran  away  with  the  spoon." 

"Ride  a  cock  horse  to  Banbury  cross. 
To  see  an  old  woman  upon  a  white  horse, 
With  rings  on  her  fingers,  and  bells  on  her  toes, 
She  will  have  music  wherever  she  goes." 

N  THE  year  of  Adam,  5586,  a 
learned  and  worthy  Hebrew,  bear- 
ing the  name  of  Mordecai  Manuel 
Noah,  conceived  the  luminous  and 
ll  brilUant  idea,  that  he  was  the  iden- 
tical 'Manuel  destined  to  gather  together  the  dis- 
persed and  persecuted  people  of  that  once  pow- 
erful and  prosperous,  but  now  wandering  and 
wretched  race,  the  Jews ;  and  selected  Grand 
Island  for  the  Ark  of  safety,  Arrarat,  or  New- 
Jerusalem,  of  which  he  was  to  be  the  Noah,  Pro- 
prietor, Prince  and  Patriarch. 

This   remarkable    personage,    in   whom   were 


230 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


combined  the  great  names,  and  great  qualities  of 
some  of  the  most  remarkable  i)ersonages  in  Jewish 
history,  thereupon  appointed  himself  **  Governor 
and  Judge  of  Israel,"  and — having  put  forth  a 
proclamation,  announcing  this  important  fact,  enu- 
merating the  many  offices  of  trust,  honour  and 
profit,  which  he  had  then-before  filled,  as  Consul 
to  Tunis,  Sheriff^  of  New-York,  etc,  reviving  the 
Jewish  Nation,  ordering  a  census,  levying  a  capi- 
tation tax,  abolishing  polygamy,  recognizing  the 
fraternity  of  the  American  Indians  as  the  lost 
tribes,  directing  many  other  general  and  particu- 
lar matters  of  faith  and  practice,  morals  and  gov- 
ernment, naming  a  day  of  thanksgiving,  and 
inviting  all  the  scattered  remnants  of  Judaism  in 
all  parts  of  the  earth,  to  come  forthwith  to  the 
United  States,  New- York,  Grand  Island,^  Arrarat, 
the  City  of  Refuge,  and  submit  to  his  spiritual  and 
temporal,  gubernatorial  and  judicial  authority,  not 
forgetting  to  bring  their  gold,  silver,  and  precious 
stones, — proceeded  to  the  west  to  lay  the  corner 
stone  of  the  Synagogue,  with  solemn  and  appro- 
priate ceremonies,  and  to  found,  consecrate,  and 
eternize,  the  mighty,  magnificent,  and  many-peo- 
pled City  of  Arrarat ! 

But,  alas  I  the  site  of  the  city  was  an  untouched 
wilderness  :  Buffalo  was  the  nearest  place  of  any 


TO    NIAGARA    FALLS. 


231   li 


magnitude,  and  there,  accordingly,  the  grand, 
imposing,  and  never-sufficlently-to-be -remembered 
ceremonial  took  place.  The  corner  stone  was 
borne  in  solemn  state,  to  the  Episcopal  church  of 
St.  Paul  ;  the  self-appointed  Ruler  of  the  Hebrews, 
the  self-constituted  Governor  of  the  Jews,  and  the 
self-created  Judge  of  Israel,  in  the  flowing  robes 
and  rich  vestments*  of  his  assumed  functions — ► 
"pride  in  his  port,  exultance  in  his  eye," — him- 
self headed  the  vast  procession,  composed  of  more 
than  three  hundred  men,  women,  children,  idlers, 
loafers,  and  ragamuffins.  The  inaugural  address 
delivered,  and  the  exercises  over,  the  numerous 
assemblage,  the  Governor,  Judge,  and  Corner 
Stone  retired  in  the  same  order  of  procession,  with 
the  same  pomp,  decorum,  and  dignity. 

The  corner-stone  was  soon  after  planted  on 
Grand  Island,  but  never  took  root,  and  grew  up  to 
a  Synagogue  ;  and  the  only  memorials  of  these 
great  and  wonderful  events,  and  the  great  and 
wonderful  city  which  was  to  be,  but  was  not,  are 
to  be  found  in  the  Books  of  the  Chronicles  of  the 
times,  and  the  monument,  erected  on  the  Island 
by  the  Governor,  Judge,  and  Ruler  of  the  Jews, 
which  is  composed  of  brick,  mortar,  and   wood, 

*  An  old  tragedy-dress,  borrowed  from  the  Park  Tlicalre. 


M 


■  ! 


232 


PICTORIAL    GUIDE 


which  is  yet  standing,  and  which  bears  on  its 
eastern  front,  a  stone  tablet,  on  which  are  engrav- 
ed the  following  words,  figures,  and  characters. 

ARRARAT, 

A  CITY  OF  REFUGE   FOR  THE  JEWS  : 
Founded  by  Mordecai  M.  Noah;  in 

the  month  Tizri,  5586, 

September,  18-25,  in  the  50lh  year  of 

American  Independence. 

The  foreign  Priests,  and  Rabbis  of  the  Jews, 
could  not,  and  would  not  —  at  all  events,  did  not, 
recognize  or  ratify  the  self-assumed  powers  of 
Mordecai  Manuel  Noah,  Rabbi  Ben  Rabbi  Ben 
Humbug,  and  the  whole  scheme,  the  city,  the 
synagogue,  and  the  ofl[ices  of  Governor  and  Judge 
vanished  into  thin  air.  Here  endeth  the  history 
of  Mordecai  the  Jew. 


' 

on  its 

[igrav- 

Lers. 

yttTD 

:  JEWS : 

• 

lab;  in 

year  of 

i. 

Jews, 

id  not, 

ers  of 

i   Ben 

y>  the 

Judge 

listory 

1 
I 

V 

.-'1^ 


r 


*    - 


